Cuba has been heralded as making the finest cigars in the world for centuries. Its rich, dark volcanic soil, tropical climate, and traditional farming and production methods produce beautiful cigars that are more like works of art – a point of consternation every time I light one.

When would you normally set fire to artwork that you love?

On our last trip to Cuba, we visited the Partagas factory in Havana. It was incredible to see the rollers (known as torcedores) carefully crafting each cigar.

The finishing touch is gluing the label around the cigar with a traditional plant-based adhesive.

Check out our video from Cuba, where we took to the Cuban cigar trail around Havana:

Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

My favourite cigar brand, Montecristo, gets its name from Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. It was the torcedores’ favourite story, read to them by a ‘lector’ to entertain them as they worked.

This cigar company (and others like Romeo y Julieta) pay homage to its literary roots in its label. The royal fleur de lis on Montecristo cigar bands and the crossed swords on the box logos are both nods to the book.

But these beautiful labels on premium cigars do more than merely decorate or talk of heritage and provenance.

They have other functions too.

Spotting a fake Cuban cigar

Other than price, the packaging is probably the best pointer to a fake cigar.

Check out our story on spotting fake Cuban cigars here.

So apart from marketing and branding purposes, cigar companies developed evermore elaborate designs to reduce counterfeits.

But in spite of labels being increasingly more difficult to copy, re-labeled fakes are rife throughout the world.

By the 1950s, the owner of Cuban brand Cabañas reckoned: “for every one of the two million Cuban cigars I ship to Europe, six million are sold there.”

It’s another reason to only buy from reputable companies or – if possible – from sanctioned shops in Cuba itself.

The downside to this of course is that the Cuban government owns and controls all the cigar shops and even the factories, so you’re giving money to a corrupt power.

Every silver lining has its cloud, I suppose.

How old is your cigar?

In this on-going battle against fraudulent cigars, brands update the labels regularly. Some, like Cohiba – the most expensive, prestigious and therefore most copied cigar brand – dink their cigar bands almost every other year, or so it seems.

Changes like this are both a worry and a joy to cigar enthusiasts.

Firstly, when your band looks different to what you’re used to, you fret that you’ve bought a fake cigar. On the other hand, it makes dating your cigars relatively easy.

Aged cigars can be very valuable. And like high-quality wines, well-kept fine cigars develop and mature over time.

As you can see, these three Montecristo cigars each have a slightly different band and are from very different ‘vintages’.

If you have one that doesn’t look like any of these, it could be from anywhere between 1940s to 2003. Or perhaps a special edition.

With plain packaging laws covering up cigar bands, it’s hard to even see the branding. Or to tell if what you buy is real. Most of the time, the ugly brown stickers can come off revealing the original label beneath.

But pealing off a label isn’t going to go down too well with the shopkeeper.

Check out the Cuban Cigar Website – an impressive depository of many Cuban brands’ labels through the years – if you’re not sure.

As for my three examples, the ageing process is going well. Keeping them in a relative humidity of 70% in a temperature-controlled cedar-lined humidor has done wonders.

The oldest smells completely different to the other two – richer, deeper and more fragrant. I’m looking forward to finding out how it tastes!

The post Cuban culture, chronicles and counterfeiting – the secrets behind cigar labels appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

As I sat at the bar nearest my gate at Stansted Airport eying up my latest duty free purchase, I was filled with a sense of trepidation.

It’s not a feeling I’m used to when it comes to a new cigar – I’m usually quite excited, but the guy at the shop wouldn’t open the three-pack of Partagas D5s I’d chosen.

I decided to forgo my own advice of always checking your cigars before you buy. The humidor there was clean and was at the right temperature and humidity.

I break the seal and pull the first tube out. There are white spots all over the cigar. Bugger. I check the other two. They’re the same. Bugger bugger.

I clutch at the straw that it’s just bloom.

I grab my phone and frantically search for images of cigar mould vs cigar bloom with everything crossed. It’s a slide show of horror of cigars so covered in furry mould they look more like cheese than tobacco.

However, the ones with bloom look more like mine. I start to breathe a sigh of relief.

But then I read a few articles on the difference between mould and bloom.

Is your cigar mouldy and can you smoke it?

Cigar mould vs cigar bloom

Cigar bloom is the natural aging process of cigars where oils from the fermented tobacco come to the surface and crystalise. This is a great sign that your cigar is maturing perfectly.

Mould is bad. It’s just bad.

There are lots of different types of mould – from full-blown fuzzy green, blue or even yellow spores to white deposits that look a lot like bloom.

The way to tell the difference is when you wipe the cigar with your finger. If there are permanent stains on the wrapper, you’ve got mould. If it comes off easily with no marks remaining, that’s beautiful bloom.

The white marks on my cigars stay put. I’m furious. And judging by the age of these cigars, they haven’t been around long enough to create bloom anyway.

What to do if your cigar is mouldy

First of all, isolate your cigar. Do not put it with any of your other cigars and keep it away from your humidor. Once your cigar box has mould spores in its wood, you’ll never get rid of them and everything you put in there will go mouldy. It’s really hard to get mould out of a humidor.

Mould will eventually ruin a cigar and make it unsmokeable.

Mould occurs when a cigar becomes too damp and warm, and is then exposed to mould spores.

There are articles around on how to get rid of mould from cigars. I don’t know if these methods work; I haven’t tried them.

Can you still smoke a mouldy cigar?

I think it depends on the type of mould on your cigar. If you’ve got full blown mushrooms growing out of it, I’d probably throw it away. Or even better, if it’s a new purchase, take it back to the shop you got it from and demand a refund. The shop also needs to know it probably has a mould infestation.

If you decide to keep the cigar, check the foot. If there are signs of mould there, it’s probably throughout your cigar in the filler and binder. This is probably a bit too much mould. Also check the cap – that’s where your mouth’s going to be. Just sayin’.

If the mould is small, not furry and is only on the wrapper, I’d probably give it a go and try smoking it. The heat will kill most moulds.

What did I do with my cigars?

I decided to take a gamble with my mouldy cigars. The mould wasn’t on the foot so it hadn’t got to the filler or binder. Plus it was white, not any of the funky colours I’d seen online.

I also held off smoking them for a week to see if the mould had grown or developed; it hadn’t moved and there were no new white spots. The mould could have been dead or dormant.

When I smoked them, I noticed no difference in flavour with my cigars. The only difference I did notice from other Partagas D5s I’ve had was the uneven burn. I had to keep correcting the angle and burning off staggered, unlit wrapper.

And the cigar’s burn behaviour was weird; I had to keep relighting it. This could have been a sign the cigar was still a bit damp or maybe it was affected by the mould.

However, the draw was perfect and all three provided enjoyable smokes.

If you enjoyed this article, you’ll love these too:

9 tips on how to choose a cigar

Cigar review – Partagas P2

How to set the humidity in your cigar humidor

Have you ever had a mouldy cigar? What did you do? Do you have any advice about mouldy cigars? Tell us in the comments!

By the way, if you’re talking about a ‘mouldy’ cigar or a ‘moldy’ cigar, it’s the same thing. I just spell it with a ‘u’.

The post Is your cigar mouldy and can you smoke it? appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

It’s more like… choosing fresh bread.

Here are some essential points to guarantee a good cigar purchase:

How to choose a cigar

1. The environment

Is the cigar in a closed humidor? If it’s open to the elements, the cigar won’t have been kept at a constant relative humidity of between 65 – 75%. This is pretty important.

2. Relative humidity

What is the relative humidity where the cigar is being kept? All humidors in shops should have the hygrometer, which measures the relative humidity inside, on display somewhere. If you can’t see this, be cautious. Ask where the hygrometer is.

3. The cigar’s wrapper

What is its wrapper like? The wrapper – the ‘skin’ of the cigar – shouldn’t be loose where it’s rolled, there shouldn’t be any damage to the wrapper either. If there are any cracks, back away. The cigar’s too dry. A dry cigar isn’t the end of the world, but it can take a long time to get it back to prime smoking fitness.

Cracks will cause an uneven draw, or leave bits of wrapper in your mouth, or worst case, make the cigar impossible to smoke. They’re also a sign that the cigar hasn’t been well looked after.

These five Cuabas are from a box of ten I ordered. I sent this picture to my supplier and – to their credit – they refunded the value of five sticks to my account. This kind of damage can happen in transit, especially if the cigars aren’t in their own tubes.

These Partagas Serie D No.4s all come in their own tubes, so they’re always in good condition. You can store your cigar in its tube without worrying about relative humidity for up to three weeks.

4. The sound of the cigar

How does it sound when you roll it between your fingers? This is sometimes seen as poor form to ‘listen’ to the cigar, but as long as you’re discreet, you should be okay. If the cigar sounds very crunchy as you roll it between your index finger and thumb, it’s probably too dry to smoke right away. If it doesn’t make any noise at all, it might be too moist; in which case, don’t buy it. There should be a little bit of noise – like a soft rustling sound.

5. The firmness of the cigar

How does it squeeze? When you pinch it, there should be a bit of give in the cigar. If it’s really hard and there’s no give, the cigar is either very dry or it’s been too tightly rolled. If the roll is too tight and the tobacco is all compacted, you’ll never be able to smoke it.

However, the cigar I bought in San Francisco from Stogies Inc. was really tight, but the shopkeeper warned me saying this was how they rolled them. This cigar was unusual as it was very tight but still smoked really well. Here’s my review of the Stogies Inc.’s Robusto Maduro.

Another test is to try gently (very gently) bending it. If it flexes a little, that’s great. Don’t bend it too hard though – obviously. Don’t want to snap it!

6. The cigar’s bouquet

How does it smell? Different cigars will smell different, just like different bread does. Most cigars will have an earthy musty smell to them. Some will even smell a bit like poo. This is okay. If there is no smell and it’s an expensive cigar, you’re either about to buy a fake or a very dry smoke.

7. The cigar’s colour

Is its wrapper a consistent colour? Look very carefully for strange discolourations on the wrapper. If there are any white patches, this could be mould. Mould is an aficionado’s worst nightmare and can be very difficult to get rid of from your humidor. If there is a slight white dust to the cigar, that should be okay. This is probably just the hairs from the tobacco leaf.

If there are any small light green or dark patches, this is probably okay too. These are likely to be just imperfections in the leaf when it was fermenting. If there are too many or the patches are big, reject it and look at the next one.

8. Check out its friends

What do the other cigars it’s with look like? Don’t be afraid to reject a cigar. It’s your prerogative to choose which cigar you buy. The vendor shouldn’t refuse to open a box for you to inspect.

Check the other cigars to see if there are any mould spots, damage or weird markings on the wrappers. If you see something, don’t be afraid to ask the vendor about it. If it is mould, the vendor will be happy you spotted it so they can take action and reduce the spread.

9. Check its foot and cap

Look at either end of the cigar. If it’s damaged, it won’t hurt the smoke –you’re cutting one end off and setting fire to the other anyway, but again it’s your choice. You’re paying premium prices, why get substandard goods?

What do you look for when you buy a cigar? Any smart questions to ask before you buy? Pop ‘em in the comments.

Images by Mr and Mrs Romance.

The post 9 tips on How to Choose a Cigar appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Providing the main product you sell is tobacco, you can get a special licence that permits you to sell alcohol and food.

For that reason, there are loads of hookah bars and cigar lounges throughout the city.

We decided to check some of them out. Here’s the low-down:

Starting at the western end of Fifth Avenue, we worked our way toward the Gaslamp Quarter and the harbour.

Café Bassam

Café Bassam – 3088 Fifth Avenue (corner of Redwood Street) is open from lunch and is a very cool, quirky little café. It’s full of antiques and has a great vibe. It also has a really interesting range of cigars, from local brands to more exotic types to suit your taste.

Like the rest of the furniture here, the humidor is also antique, which could mean it’s really really good or full of holes to let that dry desert air in. This was my only concern though, and I’d definitely go back to spend more time here.

Smoking is not permitted inside, as it is primarily a café. There is a little courtyard out front though, which would be very comfortable for a smoke.

cafebassam.com

Tabac

Tabac – 589 Third Avenue (corner of Market Street) is open from 10am and is a very cool spot. It has its own brand of hand-rolled cigar called Gran Havana. I found this name amusing as it was so erroneous: nothing to do with anyone’s grandmother and rolled in the Dominican Rep! Still, I bought a panatela to try later – you’ll be seeing a review of that one soon.

You can smoke inside here, and the staff are incredibly friendly.

The interior has a café feel, but it’s still comfortable enough to lounge for hours over your smoke. The walk-in humidor is excellently stocked and the cigars are all in very good condition. The drinks list looked good and they even make good coffee there – a rarity in the States.

Out of all the places we looked at on our tour, this was our favourite. If we lived in San Diego, this would be our local for sure.

www.tabaccafé.com

Cuban Cigar Factory

Cuban Cigar Factory – 537 Fifth Avenue (corner of Market Street) is open from 10am and is the epitome of a guys’ smoking lounge. Big easy chairs, a gloomy bar and sport on the TVs dotted about the place. It might sound like just another old-school sports bar but it’s not. The enormous walk-in humidor at the back is impressive.

Mrs Romance wasn’t as impressed, though. Ventilation can’t have been too good as it was quite smoky in there. It also had a quite masculine feel to the place, which put her off a bit. Her comment of ‘creepy old-man bar’ was probably a bit harsh, but I can see where she was coming from.

The Cuban Cigar Factory also has its own line of vitolas – the CCF line. These are also non-Cuban, the same as all cigars sold [cough-legally-cough] in the United States. So the name ‘Cuban Cigar Factory’ is again, perhaps not completely accurate.

www.cubancigarfactory.net

Cesar’s Cigar and Coffee Lounge

Cesar’s Cigar and Coffee Lounge – 503 Fifth Avenue is open from 10am. This is the sister – or perhaps ‘little brother’ of the Cuban Cigar Factory. Not only was the guy working there half the age of the staff and patrons of the other place, Cesar’s has a lighter, younger and more approachable feel to it.

The same as Cuban Cigar Factory, Cesar’s also boasts a large walk-in humidor bigger than my room when I was a kid! There are also lots of comfy looking chairs and sofas where you can sit, and even a good size veranda where you can sit and smoke on those warm San D evenings.

Altitude Sky Lounge

Altitude Sky Lounge, Marriott roof bar – 660 K Street. This place is open from 5pm and offers some of the most impressive views of the San Diego harbour and city. You even overlook the city’s baseball ground, Petco Stadium, and on home games this part of the balcony can get a bit busy.

Cigar-wise this is an entirely open-air venue so go for it! They have a limited range of cigars to buy as you can see and I’m not convinced by how well they’re kept. You are more than welcome to bring your own though.

The big clincher for this bar – apart from being a cigar-friendly rooftop bar – is the very cool fire pit in the centre of the venue. The flames are pumped up through the rocks in the two-metre diameter basin and is just about the most awesome thing to have in a bar.

The only downside is that drinks will become a bit pricey there, but if you time it right (we were there around 5pm) happy hour brings down their selection of cocktails to be very affordable.

For more information, here’s our review of the Altitude Sky Lounge, San Diego.

www.sandiegogaslamphotel.com

—

There were a couple more places we’d like to mention here that weren’t open when we went past but that looked worthwhile.

Excalibur Hookah Lounge at 3858 Fifth Avenue opens at 5pm and closes at midnight. It looks pretty good from the outside.

Habana Club Café also looked quite promising. It’s at 780 Fourth Avenue and is supposed to open at 3pm. This place has two entrances and the front entrance is through a courtyard. The back entrance is halfway through the block down an alleyway. Don’t be put off though, I reckon this place could be pretty good.

Wherever you go for a smoke in San Diego, you’re guaranteed welcoming service. San Diego is such a happy little city, as I’ve mentioned before. If the venue’s cigar friendly, the emphasis is very much on the friendly part.

Images by Mr and Mrs Romance.

The post San Diego Cigar Bar Tour appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Until recently, I couldn’t go past a Montecristo No.2, which is very similar to the Partagas Serie P No.2 – perhaps a little bit of a smaller ring gauge – but widely recognised as the best cigar in the world. I’d be inclined to agree.

I have since changed my opinion.

The Partagas P No.2 – also with that lovely torpedo shape of a pyramide vitolo, and also a mid to full bodied cigar – I think is smoother than its Montecristo counterpart. Its flavour is also more consistent.

Ordinarily, cigars get ‘spicy’ closer to the end. The Partagas seems to start off with some good spice notes but then mellows. It still has really nice vanilla tones right until it’s burning your fingers. There’s no extra heat the further down you go either, so you get the full benefit of what you’ve paid for.

For such a big cigar – and it is a big smoke (budget for a good 90 minutes to smoke it) – it’s very easy-going and satisfying.

If you’ve smoked shorter cigars or robustos in the past and want to move into longer sticks or irregular figuerdo rolls like the torpedo or perfecto, I can’t recommend the Partagas Serie P No.2 enough.

My only reservation with Partagas is they don’t burn completely evenly and the ash is a little soft and burry. Other than that – top marks.

Interestingly Partagas is seen as a lesser brand by Cuban cigar standards. They sit one class below the likes of Montecristo, Cohiba, Cuaba and Trinidad, which are at the very pinnacle of cigar quality.

Here’s the pyramid chart of the hierarchy of Cuban cigars Habanos S.A. established in 1988 from lemoka.com. It’s separated into three main categories – Upper scale, Middle scale and Common scale. This pyramid scale still governs the commercial policy of Habanos SA.

Stats:

Name: Partagas Serie P Number 2
Origin: Cuba
Wrapper: Cuba
Binder: Cuba
Filler: Cuba
Ring gauge: 52 – the ring gauge is calculated as in 1/64 inches on the diameter of the cigar’s widest part. So this cigar is about 20mm across.
Length: 6 inches
Vitolo: Pyramide

By the way, I enjoyed this cigar with a bottle of Kozel Cerny. It’s a nice buttery, dark Czech beer that definitely worked with this cigar.

For more of our cigar stories and reviews, click here!

Images by Mr Romance.

The post Cuban Cigar review – Partagas Serie P No. 2 appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

La Flor Dominicana – or LFD to their friends – is a Dominican firm that have been running since 1996 and produce a wide and ever changing range of vitolas that I’ve been dying to try ever since I found them on Instagram.

From their range I decided to go for a monstrous Ligero Cabinet Oscuro Natural (or L500 Cabinet). It’s quite a mouthful – both by name and dimensions with a ring gauge of 60 (this measurement only goes up to 64).

The Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper is almost dark enough to be maduro but it’s not quite and, although it’s a big fat dark monolith of a cigar, it didn’t smell as strong as I thought it would.

I smoked this bad boy with my mate Peter over a couple of beers, a bottle of wine and a spirit to finish off. Why so much to drink? We had that much time. Measuring at 5 ¾ inches, this was a good two-hour smoke.

The smoke was smooth from the beginning and the burn was even and consistent. I was expecting a much bigger flavour from such an impressive looking cigar, but if I’m honest, I was a bit underwhelmed. Spices did come out toward the end, but by that time, we were just a bit bored.

Still, I won’t give up on LFD. They’re a progressive company and make such a range it would be unfair to write them off on the basis of one cigar.

Next time I might go for one of their Air Bender range, which promises lots of body and plenty of flavour.

Who: La Flor Dominicana.

Where: Found worldwide but here’s the LFD website

What: Ligero Cabinet Oscuro Natural (aka L500 Cabinet)

For more cigar reviews, tips and tutorials, check out our cigar romance.

Images by Mr Romance.

The post Cigar Review – La Flor Dominicana L500 Cabinet appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

While Mrs Romance was busy learning at the 2013 BlogHer Conference, I decided to have some fun of my own. Here’s my hop around Chitown’s cigar scene.

Clark Street Ale House – 742 North Clark Street

This is my first stop of the evening.

Image courtesy of Google Maps.

The line-up of craft beers they have on tap is impressive. The taps themselves are mounted on original sidings from old fire trucks from the local area.

The very nice man behind the bar – Adam – pours me a great pilsner. Grimshaw Pilsner, in fact, by the North Coast Brewing Co. It’s sweet, sharp and bubbly. It’s the perfect start-up.

I get chatting to Adam, who’s been a Chicagoan from the start. He even worked in the old metal factories before they all closed down a couple of decades ago. He assures me I can smoke out the back, but I’m saving myself for later!

I have a look anyway, and sure enough, I find the courtyard dedicated to cigars. Comfortable-looking garden chairs and little lights decorate the little area. It would be perfect for a smoke.

Back at my seat at the bar, I decide to try a three 5oz taster. I have no idea how big a 5oz glass is until it comes. Yes, now I know five ounces is like a giant shot glass. This is okay though as I want to try as many of their beers as I can.

I go for the Big Shoulders Hopapalooza IPA, the Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar and Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier.

The IPA’s a little sweet and not dry enough for my liking, but the Nectar is delicious. It’s sticky and sweet, and has a really good hazelnutty touch to it. The Black… well, it’s mental. Heavy, sharp, dry and full of coffee, I’ve got no idea how anyone could drink more than a pint of this. It’s only 5.5% but it tastes much stronger.

To wind things up, I give their hand pump a try. I know this sounds potentially quite rude, but it’s not. Clark Street Ale House has a New Holland Mad Hatter IPA that’s pumped straight from the seasoned wooden cask it’s brewed in and it’s worryingly drinkable.

It’s sweet, hoppy and bitter all at once. This is a great example of what Americans are doing with craft beer.

Here’s the beer list. My picture’s not very clear, but you can see how many they have on tap at Clark Street.

The bar by the way is exactly what you’d picture an American bar to be if you’d never been in one before. Nice and dark, full of atmosphere and characters, the fullest liquor shelf you’ve ever seen, and real friendly.

Oh, and baseball on the telly.

—

Sullivan’s Steakhouse – 415 Dearborn Street

My next stop, Sullivan’s, is across town. Upstairs used to be a smoking lounge but with all the new legislation Illinois and most other states are into these days, smoking in such places is now a thing of the past.

Sulli’s is a classic big-steak big-American restaurant where the steaks are a bit too expensive for the casual diner. And the valet parking, classic bar staff style and matre d’s desk are off-putting.

However, the understood cigar-affirmative street-side dining is unbeatable. Especially with such good service and such good food.

The Butcher Shop Burger with blue cheese and fries is just about the best burger I’ve ever had! Big call, isn’t it?

After my incredible burger I light up the robusto maduro I bought in San Francisco from Stogies Inc. Here’s my cigar review.

Here are some pics of the upstairs dining area – once a dedicated cigar lounge.

I really liked Sullivan’s and would be back in a flash. The people-watching streetside (especially late on a Saturday) more than makes up for the first floor no longer being a cigar lounge. They even put proper cigar ashtrays out for smokers.

—

Redhead Piano Bar – 16 West Ontario Street

My final stop for the evening. Exactly as it sounds, Reds has a piano! After about 10 everyone gets involved and the runaround bar is run ragged.

The scotch menu here is superb and the cigars on offer are okay too – especially for what is essentially a dive bar.

The smoking area isn’t great though – just a little courtyard out the back. But if you’re lucky and you don’t mind missing the awesome atmosphere inside, then you and a group of friends could smoke it up and have a great night.

There’s a weird rule though that all drinks have to be bought at the bar – no table service, so get ready to battle for your beer. The bar staff are fast though, so you’ll be right as long as you stay positive and focused!

—

All in all, I had a great night even though I was on my own. Chicago is an incredibly friendly city considering it’s so big. That mid-west hospitality really shines through here. And it’s clear they’re trying hard to cater to their cigar-loving locals.

—

Here are the three places I went to and links to their websites again. If you’re ever in Chicago, definitely check these places. If you live in Chicago, I hate you!

Clark Street Ale House

Sullivan’s Steakhouse

The Redhead Piano Bar

Images by Mr Romance.

The post Chicago Cigar Bar Buster – a tour of Chicago’s cigar bars appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Instantly intrigued I picked the maduro robusto – mostly because it was the only one left. Popular for a reason, right?

By the time I got to smoke it, I was already in another state on my Chicago cigar bar buster. Otherwise I’d have gone back for some more.

Some maduro cigars are baked to get that dark colour and toasty flavour. Shocking isn’t it? Not this one though. Even though it’s cheap for a maduro, this was still a very well-crafted cigar.

The Stogies Inc. home brand cigars are all tight rolled. They feel really hard between your fingers, which usually means a tough draw and a bit of a pain to keep lit. This cigar was an incredibly fluid draw though.

Medium- to full-bodied flavour, this was a leathery, dry, liquoricy smoke. The tight roll means it has a good ash hold too. Mine only fell twice or three times. The only drawback to this tight roll is it leads to a bit of an uneven burn. I had to even up the end five or six times during the smoke, but that’s okay. I love my lighter so this means I get to use it more!

For such an unknown brand at a such cheap price, this was a top smoke. If and when I come back to San Fran, I’ll be popping in there for some more. Might even try one of their piramides or even their double coronas.

I enjoyed this one after one of – if not the best burger I’ve ever eaten in a cigar-friendly front courtyard in Sullivan’s Steakhouse in Chicago, Illinois.

Who: Stogies Inc.

Where: 2801 Jones St, San Francisco

What: Robusto maduro

How much: $10

Images by Mr Romance.

The post Cigar Review – Stogies Inc, San Francisco appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Day 18 of our 30 Cocktails in 30 Days Challenge: the Almond Cigar

As you may have noticed, I like the occasional cigar. I also like almonds. So when I first discovered this cocktail in a book Mrs Romance gave me, I was understandably excited about trying it.

I wasn’t disappointed. I even had a cigar while I drank it!

This is a strong drink, so make sure you’re sitting comfortably when you have one. The amaretto sweetness works so well with the acid of the lime juice, and the Cuban rum adds that potent tobacco note.

The Almond Cigar is delicious and worryingly moreish!

How to make an Almond Cigar

Here’s what you need:

For each drink

• Double measure of Havana golden rum
• Single measure of Amaretto almond liqueur
• ¾ measure of lime juice
• ¼ measure of sugar syrup
• Ice
• Martini glass
• Cinnamon stick to garnish
• Cocktail shaker, jigger measure

Here’s what you do:

1. Pour the Havana rum, Amaretto, lime juice and sugar syrup over ice into the cocktail shaker
2. Shake everything thoroughly
3. Strain into the martini glass
4. Garnish by balancing the cinnamon stick in the drink. I found this very difficult and frustrating to do. Mrs R did it first time.
5. Enjoy with a small, light Cuban cigar like a Partagas Coronas Junior or a Montecristo No. 5.

If you like this cocktail, then you’ll love our ebook How to Host the Perfect Cocktail Party.

It has how-to instructions with pictures on over 35 different cocktails to make. You’ll also find over 10 chapters of top tips and tricks on what you need and what you don’t, guaranteeing your cocktail parties will become the stuff of legends.

Even if you’ve hosted cocktail parties before, the great ideas inside this book will help you perfect and hone your hosting skills. And of course your cocktail repertoire!

Yours for only $9.99, this book will keep your parties fresh and their glasses full!

Click the button below to Buy Now.

Or if you want more information on what our book’s about, head to our Perfect Cocktail Party ebook page.

Images by Mrs Romance.

The post 30 Cocktails in 30 Days – Day 18: the Almond Cigar appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

However, there are so many tips, tricks, techniques and cheats out there, it can be very confusing. Let me show you what’s worked for me:

1. Get a hygrometer. Digital ones are obviously more accurate but the analogue ones are still pretty good and look nicer too. Usually your humidor will come with an analogue one.

2. Calibrate your hygrometer. The digital ones shouldn’t need calibrating but it’s always worth checking they’re accurate. Fill a screw top cap with regular table salt then drip water into it until it’s a sort of salty sludge. This salt sludge has a relative humidity of exactly 75%.

Here’s how I calibrated my hygrometer:

Pop your hydrometer into a snaplock bag with the cap of salty goodness and leave it overnight. There should be a little adjuster on the back of the analogue hygrometer. Move the needle to 75% and you’re done.

Note: you might want to double check the calibration has worked by repeating the snaplock bag process.

3. Remove the humidity unit from your humidor – that’s the thing with the green sponge stuff inside – and pour a generous quantity of distilled water on the sponge and put it back in the humidor overnight with the hygrometer inside.

Another note: only use distilled water. Tap water has chloride etc in it and can affect your smokes.

You can buy humidifying gel too, which keeps the air at a perfect 70% relative humidity… but where’s the fun in that?

4. Leave the humidity unit in there for a few days, making sure the relative humidity is nice and high. You’re trying to get the cedar wood lining to absorb a fair bit of water so that the humidor will stay constant for longer.

If there’s not enough water in the wood, the moisture in the humidity unit will go straight to the wood and not your cigars.

Yet another note: some people recommend wiping the walls of the humidor down with water first. This isn’t a good idea because you’ll just saturate the wood and make it too wet in there.

6. After a few days take the humidity unit out and close the lid again. What you want to check for is that the humidor itself has stopped absorbing water. The relative humidity will go down, but not too much –about 5 or 6 per cent is okay.

Eventually you’ll get the humidity to stablise and you’re ready to go. It shouldn’t take more than a week and worth every minute.

It’s not advisable to put your cigars in the humidor while you’re prepping it. They’ll be okay in a snaplock bag for around a week.

What do you do to keep your humidor regular (no bran comments, please)?

Images by Mrs Romance.

The post How to set the humidity in your cigar humidor appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.