Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm a huge Star Wars geek. I, like so many others, had the toys when I was young, which were eventually sold off at a garage sale at some point. When I became an adult, and by adult I mean having a decent income, I decided to regain my lost love......but with a slight upgrade. I began purchasing the sixth scale figures produced by Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys, much to my wife's glaring looks.......and now my living room is filled with extremely over priced toys that allow me to feel justified in losing those toys so long ago.
But that's not the point of this blog. I was lucky enough to have a pretty awesome mom as a kid and it's with a nod to her that I begin the true reason for my post today, sort of.
One of my earliest, full memories with my love of Star Wars starts with home-made play dough. My mom used to make me, and my older sister, her own batch of play dough......and yes you could eat it; I'm sure I ate more than I was supposed to, but it was with that skill she owned and the character Jabba the Hutt which I feel solidified my childhood love for these films.
I was five years old when Return of the Jedi was released.....prime play dough age! And after seeing Jabba on film for the first time an idea came to mind when I thought about my mothers home made play dough It was from then on that I insisted she only make me large, green colored batches.
I can still picture the scene in my mind, as fresh as the beers I enjoyed earlier today with a best friend.....I would sit at our round, wooden kitchen table and sculpt Jabba out of the mass of green play dough and I'd make him laugh, intimidate and eat any of my Star Wars figures that happened to cross his path!
Then we flash forward to 1999. Yes, The Phantom Menace was a horrible movie, no one can deny that. But, I still remember sitting in the theater, the lights dimmed, the 21st Century Fox logo brightened up the room and their drums began to get my heart racing. Everyone knows what happens next, 'Baaaahhhhh' go the instruments as the giant Star Wars logo flashes on the screen in all of it's brilliant yellow............
It's here where I start to make my point of this blog. After ROTS I never thought we'd get a new Star Wars film, but we all know what happened.......Disney bought the rights for 'pocket change' and here we are, a month away from episode 7!
So, Disney. Yeah. They're amazing and I have no doubt the new film will be as amazing for me as when I sat at my kitchen table making Jabba the Hutt devour action figures! But there is one draw back for me. I have watched every Star Wars film over and over and my heart always starts to beat a bit quicker when Fox's logo appears along with those amazing, beating drums. Only this time we won't get to experience that.
I'm not a fanboy of any movie studio, not at all. But there is something iconic about Fox and Star Wars that, for me, I am just going to miss this time around. All I can think about is the Disney princess castle coming in to view as swirly stars begin to make their way around it's highest peak. But the drums won't be there. The skylights moving back and forth in awkward motions won't be there. The terribly, hand drawn '21' won't be there (I'm speaking old school, not the well polished new Fox logo). I don't know if anyone out there feels the same, or even cares for that matter, but this is how Star Wars has always begun for me and, while I welcome a new chapter with open arms, I can't help but think there's going to be something missing from the opening of an amazingly new adventure.
I suppose at the end of the day, or at the very least as soon as those yellow words flash onto the screen, I will have forgotten all about the void in my expectations, but it still won't be the same.
Or is it just possible, in some 'magical' way, that one of the largest company's on the planet will shock me? Is it at all possible that somehow Disney will surprise me and have stricken a deal with Fox to allow those drums to play as the flying stars encircle the pretty castle?!
My money is on 'no', but I can hope and dream.
And if it doesn't happen, well you know what? I will be one happy (unprepared) camper knowing that I simply get to witness what will remain a permanent memory in my head.......just like the memories I have of those awesome batches of play dough I got to kill Luke Skywalker with!!!
P.S. Minor spoiler........in The Force Awakens, Luke dies by play dough!
Friday, November 13, 2015
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Baltodano Clasico Review
Baltodano Cigars out of Miami, FL was kind enough to send over a few samples of their Clasico, a blend they recently released and today, after many days of feeling under the weather, I am finally feeling well and I'm going to review their product!
The prelight brought on hay and barn yard aromas, and it has an amazing draw after I clipped the double capped end. If I am not mistaken, their website has this listed as a medium bodied smoke. I like my sticks as strong and as peppery as I can get, so I'm interested to see how I'll enjoy it after it's lit...................
Wow, much more pepper out of the initial lit puffs than I thought I'd be getting; on both the retrohale and regular drag the black pepper just lingers around for quite awhile! I'm not getting a ton out of the finish, but that's not say it's short. There's a great deal of cedar that shines through to me and that is mixed in with some dry earth/multch flavoring.
The mid way point brings a touch of sweetness into the profile. The pepper isn't as intense, but it kicks in as the other flavors fade out. It's more like a mellow, creamy cedar turning into that black pepper, which is an awsome transition on the pallet with each puff. The ash has been hanging on like a champ and is a beautiful white, pancaked stack. Even though the pepper has died down, it is easilly experienced on a retrohale whenever you want to add a kick to the flavoring.
As I'm hitting the band point I'm finding myself completely pleased with what this cigar has offered. It hasn't required one touch up, the draw has remained totally perfect and I'm enjoying every minute of smoking this cigar.
The ash finally fell off just as it hit the band and the pepper is picking back up as I move it to final bit. I'll end the review now, so I can savor the last 15-20 minutes on my own, enjoying what has been an absolute blast to smoke. Cheers to Baltodano for making a superior product!!!! I have no idea what the cigar retails for, but I recommend that you try it as soon as you come across it!
On my last note, I have 2 more of these cigars to share with the other two POTL owners, Jeff and Scott.............and I really wish I didn't have to share!
The prelight brought on hay and barn yard aromas, and it has an amazing draw after I clipped the double capped end. If I am not mistaken, their website has this listed as a medium bodied smoke. I like my sticks as strong and as peppery as I can get, so I'm interested to see how I'll enjoy it after it's lit...................
Wow, much more pepper out of the initial lit puffs than I thought I'd be getting; on both the retrohale and regular drag the black pepper just lingers around for quite awhile! I'm not getting a ton out of the finish, but that's not say it's short. There's a great deal of cedar that shines through to me and that is mixed in with some dry earth/multch flavoring.
The mid way point brings a touch of sweetness into the profile. The pepper isn't as intense, but it kicks in as the other flavors fade out. It's more like a mellow, creamy cedar turning into that black pepper, which is an awsome transition on the pallet with each puff. The ash has been hanging on like a champ and is a beautiful white, pancaked stack. Even though the pepper has died down, it is easilly experienced on a retrohale whenever you want to add a kick to the flavoring.
As I'm hitting the band point I'm finding myself completely pleased with what this cigar has offered. It hasn't required one touch up, the draw has remained totally perfect and I'm enjoying every minute of smoking this cigar.
The ash finally fell off just as it hit the band and the pepper is picking back up as I move it to final bit. I'll end the review now, so I can savor the last 15-20 minutes on my own, enjoying what has been an absolute blast to smoke. Cheers to Baltodano for making a superior product!!!! I have no idea what the cigar retails for, but I recommend that you try it as soon as you come across it!
On my last note, I have 2 more of these cigars to share with the other two POTL owners, Jeff and Scott.............and I really wish I didn't have to share!
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Our Logo
So, you may have noticed we finally have a logo at the top of our site! This post is to say how absolutely pleased I was with my interaaction with Steven from Quil Logos for putting it together for us. He was amazingly fast and easy to work with....I couldn't be happier! If any of you out there are in the need for a design I highly recommend him. I'll be perfectly honest in saying I was expecting to pay a premium price for a design which took weeks to recieve. Steven had a couple of inital designs back to me in 3 days and asked for no funding until I was completely satisifed with the design. We went back and forth a few times to figure out what was perfect for us and he was always quick to respond to any of my requests. Within a few days I had our final product at a fanatastic price in my Inbox.....Thanks Steven!!!!
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Smoke and Guns!
Things for us are just getting started but we're extremely excited to share that we will be at the Smoke and Guns event on November 7th in Tampa, FL.
If you're in the area, come out to the Tampa Arms Company. This is an arms store run by a super great guy....there will be awesome discounts, live music, free food and drinks, great local vendors, raffles and a whole lot of fun.....it'll be an amazing time!
Scott and I were fortunate enough to attend last year, but this time around we'll have a booth set up to provide you with cigars and other goodies! All three of us will be there this year....Jeff, Scott and myself (Keith) and we'd love the chance to share a cigar and a few great conversations with you.
The event begins at 10am on November 7th. The address is 4023 W Waters Ave Suite 4 Tampa, FL.
So come on out.......we'd love to meet fellow cigar enthusiasts..... we'll Sit Down, Light Up and Share Life!!!
If you're in the area, come out to the Tampa Arms Company. This is an arms store run by a super great guy....there will be awesome discounts, live music, free food and drinks, great local vendors, raffles and a whole lot of fun.....it'll be an amazing time!
Scott and I were fortunate enough to attend last year, but this time around we'll have a booth set up to provide you with cigars and other goodies! All three of us will be there this year....Jeff, Scott and myself (Keith) and we'd love the chance to share a cigar and a few great conversations with you.
The event begins at 10am on November 7th. The address is 4023 W Waters Ave Suite 4 Tampa, FL.
So come on out.......we'd love to meet fellow cigar enthusiasts..... we'll Sit Down, Light Up and Share Life!!!
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Beard Oil Review
Not too long ago I purchased a beard oil online and performed a very quick review of it on our Instagram page. I made mention that I would probably do a follow up review and that's exacty what I'd like to do today.
The oil I purchased was called the Gentlemen's Blend is one of many products offered by Grave Before Shave, which can he found here: Fisticuffs
I'm not totally certain why the company seems to have 2 different names, but they sell some neat stuff nonetheless.
My initial impressions of the oil I purchased were worded with honesty. The brand claims the oil is bourbon scented with afternotes of sandalwood but, in my own words, I found it to be more of a Grandma drinking a rum and Coke. I won't take back that statement, the blend is still a tad too floral for my personal tastes but it has grown on me. The scent has either died down some or I have just gotten a bit used to it over the weeks as I no longer find it anywhere near as potent as I first did. That being said, one of the things I dig about this product is that the scent lasts longer through the day than a product I used in the past.....kudos on that!
The oils viscosity isn't as thick as I'd prefer, but it's good enough to get the job done, that's for sure. I'm eager to stick with Grave Before Shave/Fisticuffs for my next purchase, but I plan to try my hand at another offering in addition to some mustache wax.
Do you have a favorite beard oil? Let us know about it......we'd love to try it out!
The oil I purchased was called the Gentlemen's Blend is one of many products offered by Grave Before Shave, which can he found here: Fisticuffs
I'm not totally certain why the company seems to have 2 different names, but they sell some neat stuff nonetheless.
My initial impressions of the oil I purchased were worded with honesty. The brand claims the oil is bourbon scented with afternotes of sandalwood but, in my own words, I found it to be more of a Grandma drinking a rum and Coke. I won't take back that statement, the blend is still a tad too floral for my personal tastes but it has grown on me. The scent has either died down some or I have just gotten a bit used to it over the weeks as I no longer find it anywhere near as potent as I first did. That being said, one of the things I dig about this product is that the scent lasts longer through the day than a product I used in the past.....kudos on that!
The oils viscosity isn't as thick as I'd prefer, but it's good enough to get the job done, that's for sure. I'm eager to stick with Grave Before Shave/Fisticuffs for my next purchase, but I plan to try my hand at another offering in addition to some mustache wax.
Do you have a favorite beard oil? Let us know about it......we'd love to try it out!
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Websites!
Hello all!
I figured I'd make a little write up on a few websites that have been useful to me in the past; you may know these already, but if you don't you should give them a chance! I'll list these 3 sites in the order of how they became useful to me, as there isn't one that's better than the other; they're actually all completely different.
Cigar Obsession
I really started getting into cigars by watching YouTube video reviews of whatever cigar I happened to be smoking at the time. The reviews helped me develop my palate and there was no better reviewer, to me, than Bryan Glenn of Cigar Obsession. His videos's are well made, informative and sometimes a bit entertaining. In the end, when compared to a million other cigar reviewers out there, his always provide an honest thought on whatever cigar he's enjoying at the moment and I just learned so much from him that I can't help but to recommend his site to anyone getting into the hobby.
Tampa Humidor
How can I not recommend such a great, local lounge?! T be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Tampa Humidor the first few times I went. I didn't like that they were beer and wine only (I love a glass of whiskey!) and the ventilation wasn't the best either.....I've suffered a pair of burning eyes too many times there to recall. But there are a couple of great things about this shop which make it special. First, their online store is awesome.....I have trouble finding the sticks I actually WANT to try online, and 9 out of 10 times this place had what I wanted. Second, they have a solid buyers club program. For 50 bucks/year you get 10% off EVERYTHING.....not just cigars. This discount also stacks on top of whatever deal the shop happens to be running at the time; I can't tell you how many times I saved over 25% on singles/boxes at this joint.....that's awesome for a brick and mortar. And lastly, they're just friendly. I never had an experience at any other lounge than I have at this one. The guests are nice sure, but the employees are even better!
Cigar Bid
I have to admit, I was NOT a fan of this site when my friends told me to try it out. I love hand selecting singles in stores and I love supporting my local lounges. There was just something about buying the cheaper cigars in bulk that put me off to what this company was doing. But then I let it sink in a bit more. I realized that not everything was a cheap bundle and that some truly good deals could be had. Today, I take advantage of their Free Fall offers probably every other week. Sure, I still love supporting local joints and I still do, but come on......scoring some solid sticks for as low as $2-$3 a piece is just a deal no one can pass up! One thing I had to do some research on here was with HOW their Free Fall programming worked. If you aren't aware, I will share that with you. There is a starting point and a bottle point for every auction on the Free Fall. Their programming auto stops the auction, and resets it to the starting point, at random intervals. What this means is that you could 'watch' a Free Fall auction for an hour and never see it hit the same bottom price twice and never see a new bidder with one. This isn't a bad thing, as I said, I use it a lot......you just have to be patient and be comfortable with whatever price you bid at.
Well, I hope some of you find these sites enjoyable, and if you have any you'd like to share, feel free to add them to the comments on this post. Have a great day everyone!!!
I figured I'd make a little write up on a few websites that have been useful to me in the past; you may know these already, but if you don't you should give them a chance! I'll list these 3 sites in the order of how they became useful to me, as there isn't one that's better than the other; they're actually all completely different.
Cigar Obsession
I really started getting into cigars by watching YouTube video reviews of whatever cigar I happened to be smoking at the time. The reviews helped me develop my palate and there was no better reviewer, to me, than Bryan Glenn of Cigar Obsession. His videos's are well made, informative and sometimes a bit entertaining. In the end, when compared to a million other cigar reviewers out there, his always provide an honest thought on whatever cigar he's enjoying at the moment and I just learned so much from him that I can't help but to recommend his site to anyone getting into the hobby.
Tampa Humidor
How can I not recommend such a great, local lounge?! T be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Tampa Humidor the first few times I went. I didn't like that they were beer and wine only (I love a glass of whiskey!) and the ventilation wasn't the best either.....I've suffered a pair of burning eyes too many times there to recall. But there are a couple of great things about this shop which make it special. First, their online store is awesome.....I have trouble finding the sticks I actually WANT to try online, and 9 out of 10 times this place had what I wanted. Second, they have a solid buyers club program. For 50 bucks/year you get 10% off EVERYTHING.....not just cigars. This discount also stacks on top of whatever deal the shop happens to be running at the time; I can't tell you how many times I saved over 25% on singles/boxes at this joint.....that's awesome for a brick and mortar. And lastly, they're just friendly. I never had an experience at any other lounge than I have at this one. The guests are nice sure, but the employees are even better!
Cigar Bid
I have to admit, I was NOT a fan of this site when my friends told me to try it out. I love hand selecting singles in stores and I love supporting my local lounges. There was just something about buying the cheaper cigars in bulk that put me off to what this company was doing. But then I let it sink in a bit more. I realized that not everything was a cheap bundle and that some truly good deals could be had. Today, I take advantage of their Free Fall offers probably every other week. Sure, I still love supporting local joints and I still do, but come on......scoring some solid sticks for as low as $2-$3 a piece is just a deal no one can pass up! One thing I had to do some research on here was with HOW their Free Fall programming worked. If you aren't aware, I will share that with you. There is a starting point and a bottle point for every auction on the Free Fall. Their programming auto stops the auction, and resets it to the starting point, at random intervals. What this means is that you could 'watch' a Free Fall auction for an hour and never see it hit the same bottom price twice and never see a new bidder with one. This isn't a bad thing, as I said, I use it a lot......you just have to be patient and be comfortable with whatever price you bid at.
Well, I hope some of you find these sites enjoyable, and if you have any you'd like to share, feel free to add them to the comments on this post. Have a great day everyone!!!
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Hello world!
We're starting a venture where we'd like to promote you to share your passions, to promote you to share your stories and to promote you to share a piece of the leaf with one another! Maybe you enjoy having a dram of well aged Scotch? Perhaps your a connoisser of premium cigars? Or maybe, just maybe you dabble in the ever-growing world of craft beer?!
To be honest, we say embrace whatever it is that you're into! And you know what? We fully support it!
So, share your life with us.....as we plan to share with you the things in our lives that interest us!
As the text to the right says, if you happen to own or work at a Tampa Bay area cigar lounge and you're hosting an upcoming event, let us know about it.....we'd LOVE to support you!
Or perhaps you're not so local to us? Well, no matter......we're happy to do everything in our power to help you out the best we can!
What do we ask for in return??
We ask only that you share your life and your passions with those around you........and please, please, please have fun doing just that!!!!
-Keith
We're starting a venture where we'd like to promote you to share your passions, to promote you to share your stories and to promote you to share a piece of the leaf with one another! Maybe you enjoy having a dram of well aged Scotch? Perhaps your a connoisser of premium cigars? Or maybe, just maybe you dabble in the ever-growing world of craft beer?!
To be honest, we say embrace whatever it is that you're into! And you know what? We fully support it!
So, share your life with us.....as we plan to share with you the things in our lives that interest us!
As the text to the right says, if you happen to own or work at a Tampa Bay area cigar lounge and you're hosting an upcoming event, let us know about it.....we'd LOVE to support you!
Or perhaps you're not so local to us? Well, no matter......we're happy to do everything in our power to help you out the best we can!
What do we ask for in return??
We ask only that you share your life and your passions with those around you........and please, please, please have fun doing just that!!!!
-Keith
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