Zoom Conferences and a Creamy Cigar!

March 1st was parent-teacher conferences, so we went in to teach for a half-day until an 11:15 am dismissal. Parents signed up online for conference blocks on Zoom, and our principal let us go to do the conferences from home. My first parent to sign up was at 1 pm, so I stopped at Total Wine on the way home and grabbed a big cigar, the CAO 770 Flathead, which was seven inches long with a ring gauge of 70.

CAO Flathead 770 - one of Total Wine's top sellers.

After eating lunch and completing the first conference by 1:15pm, I didn't have another parent signed up until 4:15 pm, so I had three hours to grade papers and chill out at home. I had intended to smoke the CAO 770 at a cigar bar later in the week, but the weather was pretty nice, about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and sunny. So I lit a fire in the fire pit, brewed some coffee, and graded papers and smoked that stick outside. It felt like a day off, almost.

Working virtually from home!

I lit the cigar, and the draw was really nice, and the first word that came to mind when the flavor hit me was "velvet," but I was confused. I didn't know why my mind associated the flavor of the CAO Flathead with velvet, but I knew it must have meant something. It also tasted a little like the fire outside, so there was a smoky wood flavor. When I looked up a review online the first review said that the CAO Flathead  was "creamy," so that made sense. You all know I am not terribly experienced, yet, so I didn't have the word "creamy" in my vocabulary for cigar smoking, but the flavor was new and novel to me, so my brain retrieved the word "velvet," and I wondered maybe it was because I love red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting? It didn't really taste like red velvet cake but the draw and taste was creamy, like cream cheese frosting with smoke flavor. (Strange concept, I know. Warning: do not try to smoke cream cheese in your smoke house!) 

I thought the CAO 770 was velvety, lol!

It was a great smoke. The velvet flavor went great with coffee, and it kept me company for two hours outside as I killed time before my 4:15pm conference. I recommend the CAO Flathead 770 without reservation. However, it is a big one so make sure you have a good block of time to savor it!

CAO Brazilia Gol

 It was a Friday night in March following a really long week at school. I was stressed out and had purchased a new cigar from Total Wine earlier in the week. I was looking for an opportunity to smoke it, but I had evening plans with other (non-cigar) people, so I was on my way home after those plans at about 11 pm. I was inclined to just go home and go to bed, but why? I needed some solitary self-care and I had the perfect fix: a CAO Brasilia Gol, ranked by Total Wine as the month's #4 selling cigar.

I elected to go Shaker's Cigar Bar in the Walker's Point neighborhood. It’s a traditional saloon built in 1894, with a well-known reputation for being haunted. When the owner sees me, he always nods and smiles and says, "Welcome, home." It is not my main go-to for cigars, but I do frequent the place quite a bit.

CAO Brasilia: strokes your palette.

I ordered a Glenfiddich 12 double scotch and lit up the Brasilia. And WOW!  The flavor was intense, but so delicious, and at first it does not overpower your palette. But it really stimulates it! The sweet, spicy, and tangy flavor was accompanied by a nutty taste. It paired well with the scotch, too. As I told my Facebook cigar friends, the Brasilia doesn't hit your palette, but rather strokes it. And it brought me back down to an unwound, healthy state-of-mind, and the stress of the week merely "went up in smoke," as I felt good again.

However, the longer I smoked the CAO Brasilia, the stronger and more powerful it got. Sometimes I can get carried away and smoke a cigar too fast, and as a new connoisseur, I have to work on slowing down. This was not the case with the Brasilia. I had to slow down, as it got stronger and stronger and I found myself taking several breaks. Remember this if you try this cigar. It is tantalizing at first, and while the flavor remains stable and tasty, the initial pop transforms into a volcano. Plan at least 60 to 90 minutes for this one!

This smoke brought me out of my work-week funk.

The cigar is easily a 91-93, and with the scotch and the vintage Victorian setting of Shakers, it was definitely a 95 for the overall experience.

(I will have to dedicate a post to Shaker's at some point too!) 

Metro Cigars Germantown: Theme Night Saturdays

 Well it is far past due that I give my people at Metro Cigars in Germantown a full write-up. This is definitely my number #1 go-to for cigar smoking. I have been here many times: weeknights after school, Sunday afternoons, and Friday and Saturday nights. I have come here alone mostly, but once I brought a colleague, and once I brought my sister and brother-in-law.

Metro Cigars has a lot of space, including a large bar area, two lounge areas, and a conference room. The walk-in humidor has just about everything a cigar connoisseur can dream of. And I have sampled too many cigars here to remember all of them off the top of my head. The owners Paul and Jen seem like such amazing people. The staff who I have met so far, Jarrod, Nicole, and Josh, are warm, friendly, and extremely helpful. I recommend this place - and why not? It’s my main go-to!

Metro Cigars Germantown

Now getting on to the the main topic of this post; the theme nights on Saturday nights. Such great fun! I didn't know about these at first, but I finally observed it because I come here often enough.

Several weeks ago I showed up on a Saturday night, and Nicole, who was working the bar, was dolled up in a flowing dress and sandals. Although I thought it was unusual (it was January or February), the outfit was darn cute. So I told her that I liked her dress, and she explained that it was Dominican night, but she added that the dress-up participation that night was weak, and only a few guys wore Hawaiian shirts.

The next Saturday, I made it there again, and that time Nicole was dressed in the cutest skirt, and I thought, "1950s," and sure enough I overheard her tell some patrons that it was 1950s night.

So weeks later, I gave it a shot. The theme was "Favorite TV personality," and so I attempted to dress like Nina Blackwood, one of the original 1980s hosts on MTV. So I wore an MTV tee shirt, hooded jean jacket, cut-off jean shorts, with nude nylons underneath, and pumps on my feet. I hadn’t dressed like that in decades! This was how girls dressed in the 80s! I frizzed up my blonde hair and did my makeup heavier than usual. And there I was - Nina Blackwood.

As close to Nina Blackwood as I could get!

The incentives of theme night? The costume winner gets a $50 gift card to Metro Cigars, and there is a cigar-and-drink special. That night for $12, I got an old fashion and a Pablo Martin toro cigar. And I have to say it was not bad! The bartender Nicole, who was darn cute again as a cowgirl character from Yellowstone on Paramount, made a damn good bourbon-old-fashion-sweet for me, and the Pablo Martin was actually really good. It was mild with a twist of sweetness, pairing well with my drink. The smoke was an 85 rating, perhaps, as it was enjoyable. A lot of patrons wondered why I had shorts on in early March when it was cold and rainy out. So I got to explain what theme night was and I felt like I was helping Metro plug it! As far as my outfit went, only the older people remembered Nina Blackwood, but it was fun educating the younger people on 80s nostalgia. So with the drink and the very social crowd that night, the experience was easily a 90.

Oh wait - it turns out I won the theme night contest so I got the $50 gift card! So the night was a 96! Lol. I am sorry I don't have more photos of my outfit. I really didn't think I would win! Shucks!

But I love this place!

Pablo Martin Toro with an Old Fashion

Drews Estate in Delafield; like a cat with catnip!

 It was another sunny Sunday in February. After I got my steps in at the mall, I followed the suggestions of a couple of my online cigar contacts and made the trek all the way out to Lake Country Cigars in Delafield, Wisconsin, about forty minutes from my home in Milwaukee. 

Another Sunday cigar stop!

I walked through the door with a Starbucks coffee in my hand. While the counter was immediately to the left of the front door, beyond it the humidor ran along the left side of the shop. Then to the right of the humidor was the spacious front lounge, with a small bar toward the back of it. Almost every seat was taken. However, I tuned everyone out as I entered the humidor, and immediately the name, "Churchill," resonated in my mind. Then a tall, nice-looking gentleman offered to help me, and I asked him to recommend a Churchill that goes good with coffee. He led me through the humidor and described several, but like a cat with catnip, I got very excited inside the walk-in humidor: oh, the aroma of tobacco and cedar! I could barely concentrate on the details he shared, however, one cigar did stand out. He said the Drews Estates Undercrown Shade was middle to bold, and would go great with coffee. SOLD!

Drews Estate Undercrown Shade

Lake Country is a beautiful rustic place! The main lounge area had black leather couches and seats, with antiques and framed cigar prints decorating the walls. A cooler with glass doors rested behind the bar, revealing a generous stock of beers, sodas and other beverages, to which patrons could help themselves and pay for on the way out. Down the center, between the humidor and the lounge ran a back hallway, leading to a coffee bar and an office on the left, and a decently sized back lounge on the right. And that lounge was full of patrons, too!

I sat where I can best describe was the center of the whole place, with my back against the humidor wall, across from the bar, and right where the hallway started. A barrel with an astray on it served as my table, and I had to make sure my crossed legs were not in the way of the heavy traffic of patrons walking back and forth through that hallway. Here I lit my Undercrown Shade and took a sip of coffee, and the flavor was as stimulating as the lounge was. 

 

Barrel for a table!

The dominant crowd was made up of mature men, some playing cards at a big table, while others chatted in seats. Soft music pervaded the calm atmosphere here. Even when the Milwaukee Buck's game on the TV went down to the wire in a nail-biter, the cheering and happiness when the Buck's finally won was sincere but not crazy. It was a calm celebratory energy.

Getting back to my Churchill cigar, the Undercrown Shade was a great smoke, packing a subtle, solid punch, and a nutty flavor that went really well with my coffee. And I like to give two ratings, with my modest experience: the cigar by itself, and the entire smoking experience. So the cigar was easily a 92, but the rustic setting and coffee pairing bumps it up a little. And I have to say, I have rarely seen a place so busy, that was still so unbelievably calming. The cigar stop was a 96!

Most every seat was taken!

Lake Country Cigars