It's Time!

If you are like me and live in a part of the country where the weather is great for a few months, hit and miss for a couple, and just plain sucks for cigar smoking outside for the rest of the year, you are happy that better days have arrived.

With arrival of sun and warmth, I've been hitting my deck - and the decks and porches of friends - to resume my apparent seasonal guilty pleasure, like the recent Don Tomas Maduro I had on Friday.  That was a nice cigar.  I'll write a bit more a bit later.  I've also taken in an Oliva Oval, CAO MX2, and My Father Le Bijou 1922 Churchill to name a few. Each was a first for me, and there was mix of pleasure and pain for me.

I hope you are taking advantage of the weather and appreciating the small things in life. I hope you are enjoying your time with others and sharing in memories - and making new ones - together.

I'll be back. There's work to do...CT

Burns Tobacconist

I found myself at the one of the best shops around - Burns Tobacconist on Jordan Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

I was in the area with a bunch of friends for a bit of a gathering but had decided that I would take a few hours to myself on the Saturday.  I grabbed my android phone and pulled up the Cigar Boss app, clicked on Local Shops and soon found myself going for a half-mile walk to the shop from my hotel.

The shop looks contemporary from the outside with stucco structure, but as soon as I entered, it was a thing of sheer pleasure and cigar indulgence.  Each end of the shop features a walk in humidor with choice selections as Davidoff, Tatuaje, Padron, and Ashton.  Between the humidors sits a cigar lounge with seating in reclaimed barber’s chairs that offer surprising comfort for one to enjoy a cigar, read a magazine, or watch the large flat screen television.  The ceiling is graced with hanging tobacco leaves that surround the air filtration system.  The whole place has an old-world feel.

I sat back, opened my new copy of Cigar Aficionado, and lit up my Ashton VSG Tres Mystique.  It’s a powerful little cigar according to some, but I, as one who has not generally been a fan of strong tobacco, enjoyed the smooth flavor of this cigar.  It was smooth and blended with sweet and spice.  Maybe it was the environment that played on my taste sensations, but I smoked it to the end.

While at Burns, I picked the aforementioned Ashton VSG, Romeo by Romeo y Julieta  (Cigar Aficionado’s Number 3 cigar of 2012), Partagas 1845 Corona, Nub Cameroon 460, and San Lotano Oval (Cigar Aficionado’s Number 25 cigar of 2012).

The staff there was great.  Although I cannot recall his name, the staff working had been at Burns for a number of years and spoke highly of the establishment - a quality not often found in employees.  He takes pride in his work and knows his stuff when talking cigars.  We chatted for a long time about life, cigars, careers, cigars, social media and cigars.  I was even offered a ride back to my hotel if the freezing rain hadn’t stopped by the time I was ready to leave this place, or when he was done his shift.

One of the walk-in humidors (Photo from puff.com)

Last year I first noticed the Tweet Up on Twitter, although I didn’t have the slightest clue what it was about.   While at Burns I learned more about the Tweet Up.  Great concept and I would love the opportunity to come down some time and spend the day or two at the shop spending time with the faces of the companies who attend en masse for the event.  The basic premise is that the cigar manufactures such as Pete Johnson and Rocky Patel come to the shop to meet with their customers and everyone networks, smokes cigars, and parties.  Simple concept; it’s all about the relationships with people.

Recommendation: If you find yourself travelling on I-95 through Tennessee, jump off in Chattanooga and stop in at Burns.  You’ll be thankful that you did.