NFL playoffs and something to remember

I have not written anything in the last year or so; however let's give it a try again...

After the Chargers were eliminated from the playoffs, I had a difficult decision to make. Which team should I follow during the playoffs? I do not like any of the AFC teams; except the Texans (which won today) and in the NFC I like three teams: Packers, 49ers and Saints. Since only the Saints played today I was cheering for them (besides the fact that Brees and Sproles were two of my favorite players while playing for San Diego, and I followed the Saints in 2009 when they won). So, it was easy for this weekend to follow the Saints (and they won!!)

They did not make it easy on themselves during the first half; trailing 14 to 10 to the Lions (which looked like they were going to keep scoring every time they had the ball). Finally New Orleans started to look like the team they should be and scored 5 times in a row in the second half to finally blow the Lions of the field.

Anyway; this is about cigars. After a great meal with the family (we got some great New York steaks to grill; and the weather was really good here in SoCal) I decided to fire up a Tatuaje Federal Cigar 90th Rosado...

This is actually my third of these cigars; and the previous two times I had found them complex with some strenght and spice in the taste that make them great for a closing cigar; this time with the distraction of the game I could not appreciate the great flavors I remember from the last time; however, still a good cigar. I had it paired with a Mexican wine (from Guadalupe Valley, south of Tijuana); a special release from L.A. Cetto winery: 2007 San Giovese (very rare grape for the region). The pairing worked well for the first two thirds of the cigar, however in the last third, the 90th Federal went overpowering and took over the slight tartness of the wine and the result was too much contrasting for my personal taste. I recommend to pair this cigar with a Cabernet or some Scotch.

For the second half of the game I decided to change to a Ramon Allones Superiores (a corona gorda released in 2010 for La Casa del Habano only) which I had for more than a year in my humidor. I ended up pairing it with Diet Coke Decaf. The sweetness of the Coke and the cigar combined to make it a great pairing. I was a little surprised of this development; since the previous times I had the RA it was little harsh; it may be hitting the sweet spot after resting them for over a year.

Again; part of the enjoyment of a cigar is related to the situation you are smoking it; and the combination of the cigar and the enjoyment of the Saints finally playing as expected made this a winning combination.

Do not get me wrong; both cigars are great; but the situations were combined to make one of them better even though each can hold its own on a different situation.

I have not decided to scored them or whatever; however if pressed I would go like this:

Tatuaje 90th Federal Cigar Rosado --> 85 points
Ramon Allones Superiores --> 90 points

Next time I will get some pictures to share with you.

Until next time then

For starters

After following lots and lots of cigar review blogs I finally decided to start my own. Not that I believe there is something missing out there (I am almost sure everything is covered by all people involved); but still I am not totally comfortable commenting in other blogs and I want to try my hand at reviewing cigars.

I have been involved with cigars since 25 years ago (when I went to college to Guadalajara, Mexico) and with my father being from Veracruz (where San Andres Valley is) I had a rocky start with coffee and cigars. Later on, I moved to Tijuana and had the opportunity to interact with a couple of really good friends that smoked cigars (mostly Cubans) and share with them many times of great conversation and discussion. So last year, on occassion of my 40th birthday, I started regularly smoking cigars again.

I have enjoyed the discovery of many great cigars (Tatuaje, Liga Privada, Oliva, CAO come to mind) and after more than a year I finally decided I could write about it. I expect to post a comment/review/rant every week and let's see what happens.

Be warned, I am no expert or anything; I just enjoy the company and the cigars.

See you around