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FTNYC Event Recap: “Summer Cigar Night: Take #2” at Caballeros Cigar Lounge

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The image quality is low because we all managed to forget our cameras!

On Friday, September 17th, FineTobaccoNYC hosted its second Summer Cigar Night with Caballeros Cigars in Queens.  Caballeros are very new to New York City – the lounge has only been around since may. The lounge is still under construction, and the walk in humidor is in the stocking process, but that won’t stop Caballeros from making a name for themselves in the New York City area in the years to come. In their first few months open, Caballeros has begun to develop a reputation among locals for incredibly friendly service, flexible hours, and a relaxed environment.

Tomas worked his magic again and again

Friday’s event started at 7:30pm and ran until about 1:00am.  A range of cigar smokers from around the city were in attendance smoking all kinds of premium cigars – a few I remember were the Rocky Patel OWR, Camacho Triple Maduro, Quintero Maduro, and of course Caballeros wide ranging boutique blend.  The event featured 25% off all cigar packages and accessories, live professional cigar rolling, and an 11:00pm raffle with $100 in cigars and a champagne toast. Caballeros also provided a variety of wines and other drinks including Merlot, Pinot  Noir, Moscato, and a few beers. Everyone who showed up had a great time, lots to eat and drink, and plenty of good conversation.

Come to think of it, I’d have to say the quote of the night came from a good friend of mine who is living in Harlem.  We were engaged in a conversation about our fine tobacco preferences, and I told him that to me a pipe just can’t compete with a cigar. To that he replied, “You know, to me a pipe is like a wife: constant, faithful, always by your side.  A cigar is more like a passionate lover that completely overwhelms your senses.”

I thought it was an apt observation.

Group shot outside the lounge!

A few minutes later, the height of the night came at 11pm when Caballeros handed out pieces of paper for a raffle for more than $100 in Caballero boutique blend cigars.  Needless to say, the winner (Andrew) was very happy – although it should be noted that Mike Lopez (our gracious host) encouraged him to share.

Overall, the event was a massive success – first because of the great guys who showed up, and second because of the tremendous generosity and hospitality of Caballeros!

Andrew Debter, the winner of 10 handrolled Cabarello cigars, was all smiles!

As always, if you are interested in RSVPing for free for a FineTobaccoNYC event, then shoot me an email at matthias.ftnyc@gmail.com, and you will be updated on social cigar events in the city! If you’re on twitter – so are we!  You can follow us here.

The next event is coming up in just a few weeks, so shoot me an email and come smoke some quality tobacco, meet new people, and make new friends!

Mike and Noah talk cigars
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Cigar Review: Berger & Argenti Entubar Robusto

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Launched in August of 2009 Berger & Argenti as a collaboration between Don Kiki Berger of Cuban Crafters and Albert and Michael Argenti of Cuban Imports, Inc. The Entubar is their flag ship cigar and it is rolled in the traditional method of entubar, which it gets it name from.  According to Berger & Argenti this cigar is “a tribute to the time-honored Cuban cigar making technique.” The process is carried out by “creating delicate ‘scrolls’ of rich, flavorful tobacco” and bunching them within the binder and wrapper.  On this cigar there is a 1/4″ roll of tobacco extending from the foot.  This is all of the Ligero tobacco used in this cigar.  There is also a footband that warns against not toasting the foot enough before you light it.  Now, on to the cigar.

Berger & Argenti Entubar Robusto

Size: 5″ x 50
Wrapper: Deflorado Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican

Pre-Light: The Ecuadorian Connecticut Wrapper on this cigar is beautiful.  It isn’t that oily and in fact has a slight dryness to the touch. When I smell the wrapper I didn’t pick up anything discernible. Obviously the most obvious feature while inspecting this cigar is the 1/4″ roll of tobacco that is protruding from the foot.  When I smell the foot I pick up a little chocolate and not much else.  The cigar seems well put together and it is just begging to be smoked.

Smoking Characteristics: After thoroughly toasting the foot at the advisory warning on the foot band instructed me to I took my first puffs two things came to mind: 1) The draw is impeccable and 2) the medium-bodied smoke that filled my mouth was very tasty.

Flavor: This cigar is like a three-act play, with definite distinctions and changes as the cigar progresses.  The first “act” started out creamy and smooth with notes of roasted nuts and a little grassiness. About halfway through the cigar there was a distinct shift from the creamy and smooth to a little more spicy.  The roasted nuts was still there but a cayenne pepper type spice began to appear.  The smoke seemed to not be as creamy, instead it had a velvety quality to it that coated my palette.  And finally with an inch and a half to go the Berger & Argenti Entubar became very full bodied and picked up the intensity another notch.  The spiciness came to the forefront of the flavors and was very bold and in your face.  This was a nice way for the cigar to finish.  With only a little bit left to smoke you don’t have to put up with the bold spiciness for very long if you don’t want to.

Overall Impression:  This is the second size of this cigar that I have tried and I have loved every second of both of them.  You don’t come across a cigar very often that has extremely distinctive changes, but this one did.  I am definitely going to be picking more of these up for my humidor very soon and I highly recommend them to anybody.  They can be a little hard to find but if you can don’t waste any time in picking up at least one.

Final Score: 9/10 – Amazing Cigar

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NYC Smoking Location: The South Street Seaport

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The South Street Seaport

UPDATE: THIS LOCATION NO LONGER EXISTS. THE NEW “CIGAR LANDING CAN BE FOUND” HERE.

The South Street Seaport, however, still allows smoking and is a great location.

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During the past decade, New York City smoking taxes and regulations have trended towards “more” and “stricter” respectively. Mayor Bloomberg is even embarking on a campaign to end smoking at beaches and public parks, and the threat is very real.  So, it is important that fine tobacco lovers in the New York City area do what they can to keep the art of relaxation alive for others.  Recently, that has taken the form of a slew of new and exciting cigar lounges in Brooklyn and Manhattan. It has also meant a shift towards smoking at bars and restaurants that have open-air back patios.

Unfortunately, that has left anyone wanting to sit down and smoke a pipe or cigar in a beautiful atmosphere without forking over $10-$30 for a night with few options.  That is why the South Street Seaport is such an amazing find for smokers in the city.

The South Deck

Just down Fulton Street in the Financial District, the Seaport juts out into the East river with a spectacular view of the Brooklyn Bridge to the East, downtown Brooklyn to the South, and the Financial District to the West. The seaport is essentially a beautified three-story shopping mall, but the real utility and magic of the place is in its three upper-floor decks, all of which are smoker friendly.  The floors are well lit, built of sturdy wood, and are generally stocked with enough tables, lounge chairs, and benches for a large group of people.  Because of the quality of the environment, the decks are usually full of tourists during the day, but after about 10:00pm, the decks (which are open all night) clear out, leaving what is essentially an open-air cigar lounge free for relaxation.

But “what about wind”, you ask?  That is, after all, the main difference between indoor and

The West Deck

outdoor smoking locations for many fine tobacco enthusiasts.  The beauty of the Seaport is that it sports top floor decks on three sides, all of which are shielded from one wind direction (east, north, and west). So, whatever way the wind blows (which is usually from north/northeast), the cigar smoker can find an enclosed space sheltered from the wind, with a beautiful view.  It is a complete win-win, which is why I have visited this location four times in the past two weeks for a last summer smoke.

Even if the wind manages to catch your smoke or the temperature turns cold, the Seaport has you covered. On the ground floor of the west side of the building is “Cyber Cigar & Coffee Bar.” The bar sells an assortment of “Seattle’s Best” coffee and a few beers. They also have a few humidors full of cigars, although the selection is a bit limited (I did see a Rocky Patel “Old World Reserve”).  The establishment has seating, and allows cigar smokers to smoke indoors, allowing another opportunity for relief from the elements.

Cyber Cigar & Coffee Bar offers a small indoor smoking spot.

So, the long story short is, the South Street Seaport is a great smoking location in New York City that will probably avoid smoking regulation because it qualifies as neither a beach or a public park. It may not be the best location in the dead of winter (but which outdoor locations are?), but during the spring, summer, and even early fall months it is definitely worth a visit.

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Cigar Review: Diamante’s Brooklyn Cigar Lounge “Medium” Boutique Blend

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Diamante’s Brooklyn Cigar Lounge

Today I had few extra free hours, so I decided to drop by one of New York City’s newest cigar lounges.  Diamante’s Brooklyn Cigar lounge, just off the C train Lafayette stop, really is a great place to drop by for a smoke.  The shop features its own boutique blend of cigars, made of Nicaraguan and Dominican grown Cuban seed tobacco. The atmosphere in the lounge is spectacular, definitely one of the most memorable experiences I’ve had since living in New York. I’d write about that now, but I’d really have to go into detail to give the lounge justice, and I think I’ll save that for an article on the lounge itself.

The lounge itself is worth a visit. Or two... or three.

My first cigar at this lounge was the medium bodied boutique blend (torpedo shape). At $12, the price was pretty reasonable for a boutique blend. The lounge does offer some other big-brand sticks, but they were a bit pricey for me.  Below are my thoughts on the cigar.

Diamante's Medium Boutique Blend

Appearance/Construction: The appearance wasn’t the strength of this particular stick (I say that because I’m not familiar enough with this line to make a broader statement). It was a bit veiny, which some claim adds to the flavor (which for this cigar I could imagine that being true), but veins, especially large ones, tend to decrease the straightness of the burn, which did turn out to be the case with this particular stick.  The boutique cigars are also lacking a label, which was a bit disappointing because the lounge is beautiful and has a great vibe that an attractive label could definitely add to.  Rolling the cigar in my hands, however, I could tell that the cigar was packed well (confirmed also by the draw), and the hour and a half smoke that followed offered further confirmation.

Taste: This cigar kicked off with a big spice, and actually took me off guard.  Behind the spice were hints of woodiness and black pepper. After about the first inch, however, the spice backed off a little bit and the woodiness took a bit more prominence, along with hints of spiciness.  I matched this cigar with a cup of Columbian Sumatra coffee, which turned out to be an excellent choice as the two complemented each other perfectly.

At times there was a bit of harshness, but that faded quickly and didn’t detract very much

About halfway

from the quality of the cigar. Around the second half of the cigar, a really wonderful sweetness took center stage along the now subtle spice, and the thick smoke produced by the cigar was earthy and sweet.  One thing I kept noticing was the excellent amount of smoke produced by the cigar, and the velvety smoothness of the smoke in my mouth.  As far as the burn goes, the veins in the cigar did end up being a bit problematic, but the cigar was generally very good at evening itself out.

Conclusion: This cigar was very good, but I’ll need to try another before I can feel confident in describing it as excellent.  At $12, it isn’t an everyday smoke, but I definitely recommend buying one, especially because the lounge is such an excellent place to hang out. Construction and lack of label aside, the taste was excellent and the draw pretty much perfect.

FTNYC Event Recap: “Summer Cigar Night: Take #1”

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FTNYC Summer Cigar Night - Group shot!

This last Friday (Aug. 27th), FineTobaccoNYC hosted its first ever New York City smoking event on the roof of my FiDi apartment rooftop. Fine tobacco lovers from all over the city (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, even New Jersey!) sent in RSVP’s for the event and showed up at 8:00pm to kick off what would be an excellent night.

Tomas working his magic - click to enlarge

Cigars present ranged from Rocky Patel, Romeo y Julieta, La Flor Dominicana, and Arturo Fuente, to name a few. I started my night off with a CAO Italia, a cigar I have fallen in love with recently because of its spiciness, smoothness, and aroma.  By far the most exciting cigars present, however, were the cigars brought by Caballero Cigars, a lounge based in Brooklyn. Mike Lopez, one of the Caballero managers present, described the company as part of a long family tradition in creating quality cigars, which originated outside of the U.S. and has only recently established a base in New York City.  Tagging along was Tomas, Caballero’s professional cigar roller from the Dominican Republic, who rolled everyone attending fresh cigars.  The cigar rolling was a huge attraction, drawing large crowds from around the roof, even from people not involved in the actual event. For most of the night, if guests weren’t smoking cigars, sipping wine, catching up with old friends, or meeting new ones, they were likely watching Tomas roll his excellent cigars.  As a brief side-note, near the end of the night, Tomas rolled me a very special double-wrapped cigar.  As I don’t speak any Spanish, I was having a difficult time expressing my thanks until another guest (an architect from Barcelona named Salvador) taught me to say “Muchas gracias por esta excelente puro” (thank you for the excellent cigar!).

TJ and Val talk fine tobacco

The event lasted from 8:00-11:00pm, and in between that time I finished my Italia andhad two handrolled Caballero cigars.  The construction on the handrolled cigars was really marvelous, and I had no burn problems at all.  The maduro wrappers were beautiful, with a light oiliness and sweet smell that made my mouth water.  The cigars I had were medium bodied, and tastes ranged from spice, coffee, woodiness, and sweetness.  Tomas probably rolled for two hours, and in that time everyone at the event had the opportunity to try one, free of charge.

Ah, the magic of cigars

Overall, the event was a massive success. The rooftop lounge provided the perfect atmosphere for enjoying cigars, meeting new people, and even engaging in discussion on important issues effecting the NYC cigar community.  If you are interested in coming to a FTNYC event, then shoot me an email so that I can add you to our rapidly expanding event mailing list!  The next event is just weeks away, so stay tuned!

The sign of a very good night
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