Cancun vacation and a trip to the LCDH!!!!

I hated to come back! Cancun was great! The Moon Palace is absolutely beautiful! It is a small town unto itself! I highly recommend it to anyone considering traveling to Cancun. There are 9 restaurants on 3 separate sites on the property and all are fantastic! The service was top notch.Now, regarding the LCDH. We arrived at the Moon Palace on Tuesday around 12:30 pm local time. Our room was not going to be ready until around 2 or 3, so this was the perfect time to travel downtown to the LCDH and stock up for the week. The MP has a shuttle service that goes into town every day, several times a day. We hopped aboard and away we went! I knew the address of the cigar shop but wasn't sure how far it was away from the shuttle stop location. Turns out it was about a mile or so away, so we boarded one of Cancun's public busses and headed in the right direction. It stopped at the other major mall in the area. Approximately 100 yards away was the LCDH! The gold La Casa de Habana sign was what I wanted to see! We entered the store and was immediately struck by how plush it was! Here is the entrance to the humidor:

Inside the humidor was a treasure trove of goodies!

While enjoying an Upmann #2, David, the store owner, handed me his phone to call wacco. Yes, I'm cheap, but David's phone can call anywhere in the US or Mexico for no additional cost, and all I had to do was dial the direct number! Here I am talking to wacco:

David also owns the LCDH in Tiajuana. Here's a pic of him behind the bar:

We hung out with David for quite awhile. He was quite hospitable! Here's a group pic:

Much has been said of the pool at the LCDH, and here it is! It's several feet below the main store. This shop has only been open a few weeks and the stairs aren't complete to get down to it from the main level:

From the deck outside the shop, this is the view:

Connie decided on the Partagas Chico's. She had a couple while at the shop and I got her 2 boxes of 5's for the week. Connie lounging in the shop:

Before we left the LCDH, I picked up a box of Monty 2's!!!! Now, back to the Moon Palace...

Here's a few pics from the hotel:

At the Golf Club lounge:

At the pool:

In the hotel lobby:

Finally, at the pool with a Siglo 6:

Also, Bildo called me during the week while we were on an excursion to an adjacent island. We met a Brazilian couple there and the woman had on a thong that was easy on the eyes! She's in the back of us, under the green umbrella! Here's a pic of us on the beach after Bill called:

The trip was filled with good cigars and good times. Here's the cigars I smoked while in Cancun:

Day 1: (short day; arrival day)

Upmann #2 (Habano)

ERDM toro sized (Habano)

CAO Soprano Torpedo

Day 2:

Gurkha Master Select

HdM Epicure (Habano)

LFD Ligero

PSP2 (Habano)

Day 3:

Tatuaje torpedo

Bolivar toro size (Habano)

PSD4 (Habano)

Day 4:

Vegas Rabaina Robusto (Habano)

RyJ Short Churchill (Habano)

Graycliff Expresso Torpedo

PSD4 (Habano)

Day 5:

RyJ Reserva Real Churchill

Cohiba Siglo 6 (Habano)

Opus X toro

RyJ Short Churchill (Habano)

And as they say... a great time was had by all!!!!!

Weekend review; March 28, 2009

Another rainy weekend here in South Carolina but that's ok. At least it gets rid of the pine pollen...for a little while!



This weekend I decided to have a cigar that's been in my humidor for several years. I picked it up while at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico in September of 2006; http://tinytimblog.blogspot.com/search?q=cancun+vacation



It is an A. Turrent 2000 toro. (6x50)

One website described it as:

Wrapper: Criollo San Andres

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Selected Blend of San Andres long filler tobaccos

The cigar was very dark. I'm not sure if it was a maduro or not. It had sweet spice with a touch of pepper. The finish was short. There is a flavor of rich, black coffee. The spice is very rich. The cigar stayed very consistent. This was a surprisingly nice cigar. I'm not a big fan of Mexican cigars but this one was good.



Score: 92

Christmas cigars; do you want them as gifts?

Tricky question. On the one hand all cigar lovers want more cigars but when they are gifted to you are you getting what you really want? Take the casual friend who knows you like cigars but has no idea what you really like. They may want to be nice and surprise you with some cigars they purchased from a local shop. They may get luck and give you something  you like or you may be disappointed while expressing gratitude for the kind gesture. 

Or, they may play it safe and purchase a gift card from a local shop, or even an online shop, and give that to you. That's a win. You can now purchase exactly what  you want.

Sometimes people, while having good intentions, have a brainstorm while on a tropical vacation. "I'll get John some Cuban cigars for Christmas/birthday/whatever". This has potential problems written all over it. No doubt the unknowing purchaser has observed some beach sellers parading around with their "Cuban cigars" in glass top boxes. The unknowing but good hearted individual purchases some for "a deal" and brings them back to give to John. He thanks them, in most cases, and moves on all the while knowing the cigars that were purchased are nothing but fakes. Cuba has never produced cigars in a glass top box. Plus, just the idea of some random guy walking the beach with Cuban cigars should throw up a red flag. But, people purchase them all the time. On my recent trip to Cancun I saw them selling their fake Cubans all day long on the beach. Some people actually bought them. I try to warn people but I can't warn everyone.

If John's lucky the unknowing Caribbean traveler goes to a local La Casa del Habano and purchases some authentic Cuban cigars. If this is the case John is again a winner. While the purchaser may not know what Cuban cigars John likes he will probably be ok with whatever was purchased from the LCDH.

Bottom line; purchasing cigars from someone you know or love is tricky. If you don't know exactly the type or brand they like you're better off buying a gift card. Or, if you're in a La Casa del Habano in the Caribbean or worldwide just buy whatever. John will be happy.

TT meets the Punch Girl!

Fresh from a cigar filled vacation in Cancun, Mexico, TT attends another great cigar event at the Tobacco Merchant on Bower Parkway in Irmo, SC! Tonight's event (9/21/06) was hosted by Punch and one of their sexy representatives! They were running some nice specials and she handed me a Gran Puro as I walked in the door! Here's a pic of the lovely lady with me: