What did you smoke today? (Non-Habanos Edition)

[c.ortiz108]

Sounds like you may have had a bad stick (G2). In my experience they're pretty consistent, run of the mill, reasonably well made Connecticut type Nicaraguans like Rocky Patel Connecticut and Pinar Del Rio Classico. My brother-in-law has taken a shine to the G2.

Wasn't crazy about the RP Conn either, so maybe it's just a style that doesn't click with me. Only had one or I would've passed some along for your brother-in-law.

[allusred]

2013 Torano Colisseum Churchill. As mentioned before, these are 47 ring, not 49 as advertised. I like the size but the advertised ring's incorrect.

Should finish She Wolf tonight listening to Madeleine Peyroux with some ice water. Maybe a snifter of cold Jumai sake later.

You guys are showing some good looking smokes. Sorry that I'm unable to post photos of mine.

Madeleine Peyroux I'd listened to some of her songs earlier.
A few from Carla Bruni
- You got the silver
Nobody knows you when you're down and out
Bruni - You got the silver
then to some by Madeleine Peyroux not having listen to her music for a while.
finished with a good bit of Gribouille.....so on a mini French kick today.
Gribouille is simply mesmerizing.

[Usafvet509]

An amazing CAO VR. Yellow, sticky cello, fantastic aroma and great tasting!

[RenoH414]

Smoked a La Barba Purp lancero on the way home from work this morning. Didn't get a pic though..

Reno

[NeverBend]

Todays Morning Coffee (8-6-2015): Pardons for the long post, hope that it makes you smile.

I went to McDonalds for coffee this morning. This location, perhaps others, insist on preparing it and they don't offer creamer (tiny 1/2-oz containers) or sweetener on the side. I don’t know why.

I shifted into neutral as I eased the Civic next to the the drive-thru order window.
"Large coffee with 5 creams and no sugar", I called into the box, knowing the exact number required to soften the acid and lighten the color but not dilute the flavor or aroma.

"Large coffee with 5 creams and no sugar", a young woman's voice confirmed.

I drove around to the pick-up window and paid a young fellow who was completing my order.

"You wanted 5 sugars, yes?", he asked with eyebrows raised as he shook a stack of sugar packets pinched between his thumb and index finger.

"No 5 creams!", I cried, “I never use sugar. No, no sugar, just 5 creams.”

He looked deflated, pushed the coffee to the side and then disappeared from view. A minute later he returned with another cup that he dutifully covered, bagged and handed me with a dilatory salutation of thanks.

From my house it's less than a mile to this McDonald's location but more going home because there's no left turn allowed. Normally I’d have turned around but the westbound traffic lanes were badly backed-up so I continued east and took the back road home through winding lanes with canopies of trees and plants and grazing horses dappled in the morning light.

“It’s takes a couple of minutes more but I should take this way home all the time”, I thought to myself. “This beautiful day calls for the right smoke.”

I selected a 2007 Macanudo that should have paired perfectly as a morning smoke with coffee. I snipped the cap and lit the Hyde Park, puffed and let the smoke linger on my palate before pushing the next puff through my nose in a snork that tingled lightly in my nose. I pulled the lid off of the coffee and there, instead of the dark nutty brown color that I had expected was something that looked like white paint base with beige pigment and it tasted like dirty milk.

Giving my daughter the Civic had been a good idea. I didn’t use it, she learned how to drive a stick-shift and I drive it when I like. Of course she made me stop smoking in the car but that was of little concern to me until this morning. Reluctantly I took the car and coffee and left the burning cigar to extinguish itself.

This time I went into the McDonalds. The same young fellow quickly greeted me with the a similar listlessness to which we had parted perhaps ten minutes earlier, “Welcome to McDonalds, may I take your order”. It was a statement, not a question.

I opened the coffee and he dutifully looked into the cup and then met my eyes with confusion.

“What’s the problem sir?”

I tried to explain, I really did, but this young man couldn’t fathom my concerns. A manager moved next to him and I had to explain all over again.

“You want another coffee?”, the manager tried to cut to the chase.

“I just want to make a point that I wanted 5 creamers, I’ve ordered in the past without a problem, but this coffee has far too much creamer. I’m just trying to avoid this problem for myself and any other customers in the future.”, I said.

The manager nodded his head slowly as if in deep review of the situation.

“Did you make up this coffee, John?”, the manager asked of the young man who was posed in a deep sulk. “Did you use 5 creamers?”

“Yeah, but he asked for 5 creamers twice. Rather than open all of the little containers I used a milk container.”, John said with perfect gravity.

“So it was 10 creamers! OK, just a mistake, we’ll get you another coffee.”, the manager started away.

“No”, cried John. I used a whole milk container because it was easier and was what this man asked for”, he gestured towards me. John stepped away as the manager and I turned toward each other for any sign of comprehension.

John reappeared with a personal size, red, container of milk. He pointed to the bottom of the carton where it said, “8 fluid ounces.”

“I figured it was close to the right amount because you’d said five but you said it two times, so 2 times 5 is 10 and this is 8.”, John explained carefully, apparently because we were too dense to understand his methodology.

“Aren’t the creamers only ½-ounce?”, I asked and the manager nodded.

The manager scooped up a creamer and showed John where it said, “½ fl. oz.” on the container. “You put in too much John. Make the gentleman another coffee with 5 of these.”, he shook the creamer.

John poured a cup to about half full, returned to the counter and counted off the creamers as he opened and dumped them in.

“Four, five, there you are sir.” He was about to put the top on the cup when I stopped him and pointed to the cup that was barely half full.

“Can you fill it until it’s almost full, John?”, I asked.

“Sure”, his tone wasn’t sure at all.

John poured in more coffee and though it was still well short of the rim I wasn’t going to pursue the last few ounces, he’d beaten me.

John returned to the counter, capped the coffee and while assembling a bag with a wooden stirring stick and napkins explained to me that he thought that the “½” on the creamer meant one piece out of two, like you get when you get something that you ordered on the Internet and there are two packages.

“No John, it refers to the amount of fluid in that little container only”, I was sure that someone was going to pop out and say that this was the new version of ‘Candid Camera’. “There’s only a half ounce of creamer in each.”

John tilted his head back, then brought it back down as if he’d had a ‘eureka’ moment’.

“So I should have used 16 creamers!”, he cried out.

The cigar had indeed gone out. It was cold and I needed to press around the head to flake off the ash and though it smoked pretty well it’s taste had been diminished and altered. I could have sulked but instead I enjoyed it and my coffee and thought that I’d share this this story with you with the lesson that I learned.

Smoke the cigar and make your own coffee.

2007 Macanudo Hyde Park drinking McDonald's coffee with 5 creamers .

[NeverBend]

Madeleine Peyroux I'd listened to some of her songs earlier.
A few from Carla Bruni
- You got the silver
Nobody knows you when you're down and out
Bruni - You got the silver
then to some by Madeleine Peyroux not having listen to her music for a while.
finished with a good bit of Gribouille.....so on a mini French kick today.
Gribouille is simply mesmerizing.

Hi Bob,

I made a Pandora channel with Madeleine Peyroux and have heard so many really superior young female singers (along with classic Ella Fitsgerald and Louis Armstrong) that I'd otherwise not have found, like Sophie Milman, etc.. These ladies are very talented indeed and it's neat to know that not all young singers are steered into the mechanical commercial sound that I'd thought so prevalent.

I'll Youtube or make a Pandora channel with Gribouille, thanks for pointing me in that direction.

Regards,

Pete

Edit:
Gribouille is teriffic. Sounds like Edith Piaf crossed with Maria Callas. I'll make a Pandora channel with her. Thanks.

[gordo1473]

Breakfast

[gordo1473]

Lunch

[Merovius]

Hey Rob, how do these compare to the Cote D'Or?

[droy1958]

Kelner 4x4...