I smoked a lot of decent cigars this week, but as a teacher and cigar connoisseur, nothing beats a snow day. Well, only if you smoke a stick during what would normally be the regular school day. I have had snow days when it was just too nasty to smoke one on the porch, and the roads were too hazardous to drive to a cigar lounge (if they were even open).
Well, the nasty weather started this past Sunday, but preceding the snow storm was the rain. The day was cold and windy, with sideways rain at about 37 degF. I did go out on my porch like a fool and smoked a Rocky Patel, The Edge Maduro, and it was adventurous to say the least. I will confess it was entirely out of vanity and for attention, because I posted it in my various social media groups and threads. The internet indulged me, calling me "boss lady," and "hardcore," and even "Supergirl," for smoking in those conditions. The Edge Maduro is a regular go-to of mine: woodsy, spicy, and great tasting, even though it was hard to focus on the flavor. I was lucky to persist out there in my cowboy hat, and layers and layers of warm clothing, like back in my track and field coaching career, when I stood outside in that shit while the poor kids competed. Brrr.
Later on, since I am in a bowling league that competes alternate Sunday nights, I went in and bowled. Several teams called in and forfeited because the rain was predicted to switch to nasty snow. Somehow the excitement of it all aroused my performance level, because I bowled well above my average. Then the notice came on my phone in the form of an email blast - no school on Monday due to the weather. Sure enough, it was snowing by the time I was driving home from bowling. Snow Day! For teachers and students this is a happy time. However, I had to contain my joy. The other bowlers were pissed off that there was a winter storm so close to St. Patrick's Day. I stayed out of there way by not dancing to the tune of my snow day, as they complained about Wisconsin weather patterns. They were not in the mood to hear celebrations that I would be off work the next day.
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| My "pre-snow day smoke" on the porch with Rocky Patel |
Monday morning I awoke, started coffee, and shoveled. Then on social media I conformed and fit in by bitching about Wisconsin and how crappy it was "to get all this snow in March," blah, blah, blah...even though I was like a kid, elated to have the day off. I went out and shoveled a second time. It was coming down and it was cold and windy as heck. I was not performing any encore cigar smoking on the porch, that was for sure. So I decided to roll with the weather. I put on snowshoes, hiked through deep snow for two miles, burned a lot of calories, and broke a sweat in the frigid winds. I started to come to terms with the fact that this leisurely snow day was not going to lend itself to enjoying a stick. Oh well, I thought, it was still a blizzard out there.
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| Actually I own several pairs of snowshoes |
And then it happened. I got home from snowshoeing, and the snow stopped, and the sun came out. The plows came through. My son emerged from his bedroom cave, and he shoveled what would be our third and final wave of snow removal. After I got out of the shower and cleaned up, it was 1pm, and the roads looked passable. Online websites incidated that cigar shops were open. So I headed out into the winter wonderland.
I landed at Havana Lounge in West Allis. I had not been there since the summer, and I don't really go there that often. I think it is a great place, but it is just out of my way in terms of where I live and where I travel to work or to visit family. They were open the earliest. The small parking lot was full - so obviously the snow did not stop other connoisseurs either. The plows in West Allis had not hit the side streets nearby so I parked a few blocks away, on the other side of Greenfield Avenue. No problem. I snowshoed. This was not far for me.
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| March 16th looked like January 16th |
The spacious cigar lounge has two rooms and a bar. Several men were there ahead of me enjoying their smokes. A few were working on computers. (I laughed inwardly - wondering if they were "working virtually from home" due to the weather?). The owner was working the bar and humidor. I don't know her name, but she was very friendly and helpful. She remarked about how some of her staff could not make it in due to the snow. I ordered a Makers Mark on the rocks and a 6 X 60 Asylum 13 Ogre, with a barber pole wrapper. It lit up and the initial bite was not as intense or bold as the regular Asylum 13; it had the woodsy flavor of the regular, but also a hint of cream from the green half of the wrapper. It was 2pm by this time - and I was smoking during what would be my normal school day! When I was a kid, I would be sledding and playing in the snow, but as a grown woman I did my adulting by shoveling snow, and got my exercise in by snowshoeing, and got my playtime in by enjoying this Ogre. The greenish strip of the wrapper was also keeping with the green Irish feel of St. Patrick's Day.
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| Asylum 13 Ogre |
I am glad the snow day allowed this time at Havana for me. I will have to head back there again soon, even if I have to drive out of my way. A very memorable snow day to be sure!
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| Pairing the Ogre with Makers Mark |
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