TALLAHASSEE — This just in from the pipe-dream department: Claiming it could be a vehicle to fight drug abuse, St. Petersburg Democratic Rep. Darryl Rouson has filed a bill to raise the tax on “smoking devices” sold in gas stations and tobacco shops.

“We all know the head shops, gas stations, and novelty stores in Florida are selling drug paraphernalia under the charade of being “tobacco pipes,’” Rouson said in a press release for HB 187. “If these items are to be available to the citizens of Florida, then we should charge a surtax on these consumers who are obviously using the pipes to do drugs.”

Normally, the chance of passing a bill raising taxes — much less allowing a Democrat in the minority party in Tallahassee pass a bill raising taxes — would seem pretty far-flung in the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature. But since these same GOP lawmakers just passed $2 billion in higher taxes and fees — and are staring at another $1.5 billion deficit next spring — who knows these days?

Rouson’s bill isn’t intended to be a revenue-raiser, of course. but last spring’s $1 billion tobacco tax “surcharge” was also pitched to cash-starved legislative budget-writers as a way to reduce smoking. So, why shouldn’t Democrats try the same tactic?

According to press release:

This bill will introduce a 25% sales tax on smoking devices.

This bill will reduce the amount of drug paraphernalia used in Florida by making smoking devices more expensive to the consumer.

The revenue from the surtax will be used for treatment programs, which will also help reduce substance abuse.

With less paraphernalia and more treatment programs we can expect less drug offenses in the court system and less inmates in the Department of Corrections. This tax will reduce the cost of prosecuting and incarcerating drug offenders to save Florida taxpayers money.

Paul Reiser, the comedian-actor-producer, seemed mad about something at the fifth annual God of Fire charity dinner in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Joe Mantegna and Paul Reiser running the God of Fire charity auction.
“This man has made an entire business out of the fact that no one can find a match,” said Reiser about Keith Park, the founder and chief executive officer of lighter company Prometheus International Inc., and the head of God of Fire Inc., distributor of limited-edition cigars made by Tabacalera A. Fuente.

The roasting continued when Reiser’s God of Fire by Carlito Double Corona, a new cigar Park is releasing in November, went out.

“If they could invent a lighter that works for more than an hour,” Reiser joked, “I would invest right now.” Reiser then pleaded, “Does anyone have a match?”

Park laughed. He and 180 guests had begun the evening with a God of Fire by Don Carlos 2006, and thoroughly enjoyed a night of fine food, Cambria wines, Macallan single-malt Scotches, and outstanding cigars all for a good cause, helping children in need.

“We raised $80,000, which is less than what we usually raise at the event,” Park shared. “But given the economic situation, we did quite well. Since the inaugural dinner in 2005, the God of Fire charity dinner has raised over $900,000.”

The first dinner was held in 2005 in New York City. Since then, all the dinners have been held at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles. Proceeds from each event go to the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by the Fuente and Newman (Diamond Crown, Cuesta-Rey) cigar families that today serves more than 5,000 families in the Dominican Republic by providing educational and other vital services. Each year, the God of Fire dinner also benefits local organizations.

This year, two Los Angeles groups received funding from the dinner. Para los Niсos/For the Children, and Beyond Shelter have been helping Los Angeles children and families in need since the 1980s.

Every year, the God of Fire organizers also honor a person who has worked to help children in need. This year, the honoree was Cuban-born actor-director-musician and cigar lover Andy Garcia, who was also the one who recommended the two local charities. Actor Joe Mantegna, a co-host of the event, introduced Garcia.

“Will show up!” Garcia shouted.

Garcia spoke warmly about the evening’s festivities, the cause and then told a story of how he and cigarmaker Carlos “Carlito” Fuente Jr. became good friends when Garcia traveled to the Dominican Republic to film scenes for his movie, “The Lost City,” a story about the impact of the Castro revolution on Cuban families. Garcia had to shoot scenes in a tobacco field, and some at a Latin American presidential palace. Garcia had already met Fuente and had an open invitation to visit the Dominican Republic.

Garcia visited and asked Fuente if a meeting with then-Dominican President Hipolito Mejia could be arranged so that Garcia could ask for help in shooting the scene in which the Cuban presidential palace was attacked. Fuente said it would be no problem. Garcia could little predict the new insights he would gain into his host’s “hobbies.”

September 29, 2009
By Alejandro Benes, Cigaraficionado

Famed cigarmaker Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is still a few months away from debuting the inaugural cigar from his newly formed company, but the legendary cigarmaker is providing a taste of his unique approach with the launch of an innovative “Coming Soon” website that mashes up Google Maps with real-time short messaging service Twitter.

The new site (www.epcarrillo.com) offers the first look at his new company, E.P. Carrillo, and is constructed in such a way as to celebrate and propagate the passion that people all over the world have for cigars. The temporary website, which acts as placeholder until the full website launches late next month, “scrapes” Twitter to capture and display any “Tweets” that mention the word “cigar” or its euphemisms in real-time anywhere in the world. By using Google Maps, the site then layers the Twitter information over a map to show exactly where that person is located.

Considered one the world’s premier cigarmakers, based mainly on his success in creating the famed La Gloria Cubana cigar, Perez-Carrillo announced recently that he would forego retirement to start his own boutique brand of cigars under his newly formed company. His limited-edition inaugural cigar is expected to be available for sale in December.

Until then, his newly unveiled website will serve to inform, update and engage cigar lovers while they await the introduction of E.P. Carrillo Edicion Inaugural 2009.

“The making of cigars is still rooted in old-school techniques, but the marketing of a cigar brand has evolved tremendously to the point where our creativity and communications are not constrained by any means,” said Perez-Carrillo. “We wanted to launch this brand with a website that was truly unique — one that not only would capture the essence of this brand, but to somehow capture the passion that cigar smokers have for cigars.”

The main website which launches in October will be the first brand site to be entirely built using the Google Maps interface. Ernesto and DeVito Verdi felt an interactive map would be a great way to share the story behind this new brand. The Google Maps API also lets us include some interactive features that support the larger cigar community. One example is a “Places To Smoke” this page allows cigar fans to upload their favorite spots for enjoying cigars.

Fans can also partake in a geographic journey, as they follow the path from the tobacco farms in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Honduras and Ecuador (where the E.P. Carrillo tobacco is grown), to the factory in the Dominican Republic where the cigars are rolled. Cigar retailers also benefit from this format because the platform pulls in live data from Google, keeping the information current and correct.

“Cigar smokers have such a strong connection to Ernesto that we felt it necessary to create a site that strengthened that passionate bond,” said Tyler DeAngelo, digital creative director at DeVito/Verdi, the agency that created the site. “This is not your typical site to support a cigar brand — or any brand — but then again, this not a typical cigarmaker, or cigar.”

Source: DeVito/Verdi

HAVANA – They’re called “cigar-factory readers” and for almost 150 years they have entertained the workers who hand-roll cigars in factories all over Cuba.

The Cuban government has suggested that these unique readers be designated as part of the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage that the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization will vote on, together with another 110 candidates, at a the meeting to be held in Abu Dhabi beginning next Monday.

In medieval monasteries, a monk read from the Bible or other sacred texts to the brothers while they were having their meals. In the same way, cigar-factory readers stand on a platform and read to their co-workers, often for their education, though time is also allowed for horoscopes, sexology, novels and kitchen recipes.

Documents show that the custom began in December 1865 when a learned magnate called Nicolas de Azcarate decided to provide entertainment for the workers during their tedious job of hand-rolling cigars hour after hour, and at the same time teach them about progress and reformist ideas.

In just six months the example spread across the island and more than 1,000 reader jobs were created. The workers chose whoever among them had the best enunciation and raised the money to pay the selected reader themselves, Zoe Nocedo, director of the Old Havana Tobacco Museum, told Efe.

The choice of books at the time was a matter of negotiation: there were employers who imposed dull tomes of Spanish history on the cigar-rollers, but factories with more active unions brought in works by Victor Hugo and Emile Zola and so helped incite the growing anarchy.

In 1886 Spain’s colonial Captain General of the Island, Francisco Lersundi, pressured by the conservative bourgeoisie, banned the custom with the argument that is “makes workers undisciplined and they stop paying attention to their work,” but in 1890 it was reestablished, this time forever, Nocedo said.

The birth of radio could have put an end to the reader, but the custom was so deeply rooted that the factories alternated, as they do today, periods of reading with radio programs.

The readers nowadays are state employees with an enviable status: they read 90 minutes a day and spend the rest of the time preparing new readings or debating with the workers the meaning of what they have heard.

Amid the sweet cigar aromas and standing on a platform with a microphone heard throughout the factory, Jesus Pereira, 44, entertains his fellow-workers by reading to them in three sessions: the first two obligatorily dedicated to the press and the third to novels or self-help books.

It is Thursday and today it is time to read “40 Tips about Sex,” a text suggested by a group of female workers who complained about certain bedroom habits, and that had to go through the filter of a “reading committee” before being voted on by the workers.

The advice being read sometimes gets a laugh or a smile, sometimes protests, and the cigar-rollers can show their agreement or disagreement by banging the table with the curved knives they use to cut tobacco. One bang with the knife’s edge means “I don’t like it,” while a bang with the flat of the blade is a sign of approval.

Pereira is proud of having read to his 630 fellow workers at the prestigious Partagas factory from novels like “The Da Vinci Code” and “The Count of Montecristo,” and says that detective and suspense novels are the ones they like best.

Once when he was finishing a novel, he realized that the last two pages were missing, so he invented an ending and nobody was the wiser – the tobacco knives banged loudly that day, he recalled proudly.

Jesus is very popular because in his 23 years on the job he has added “special effects” – he imitates gunshots and doors slamming, cries out in a woman’s voice and in many other ways adds drama to his reading.

Like all cigar-factory readers – there are 213 on the island – he had a 30-day trial to win the favor of his demanding audience and get those tobacco knives banging loud and strong. EFE

By Javier Otazu
© Aht

If you were making a movie about the Cuban tobacco trade, a movie that just happened to contain a role for a Canadian cigar tycoon, then you’d want to talk to Johnny Miller.

Not only does Miller resemble a cigar tycoon in dress, diction and demeanour, he is a cigar tycoon.

“The tobacco businesses is in a fight for survival because it is so persecuted,” grouses the owner of F. Correnti Cigars Ltd. – “Manufacturers of Handmade Cuban Cigars” – whose second-floor, brick-walled factory is hidden at the end of a narrow alley off King St. W. in the chic, sandblasted heart of Toronto’s Fashion District.

“The taxation has destroyed the business. It’s a persecuted business. It’s prohibition.”

Born in Copenhagen to a cigar-making family, the 64-year-old tobacco magnate swans into the antique, wood-floored premises of what he describes as Canada’s only remaining manufacturer of handmade cigars.

He clutches a cup of Tim Hortons coffee and wears a checkered sports jacket over a black-leather vest, black trousers, and black snakeskin boots.

A single strand of coffee-coloured beads encircles his neck, beneath the open collar of an off-white dress shirt. His dark hair is combed back in a confident pompadour.

It is 4:30 in the afternoon, and Miller is launching his working day – the very picture of a man who makes his living by manufacturing and purveying those aromatic hand-rolled icons of a bygone age, a time when men were men, women were women, and cigars were smoked, publicly and privately.

Those were the days, or maybe they weren’t. Either way, they’re gone.

“Politicians can’t walk around with a cigar anymore, like Winston Churchill,” Miller laments. “That’s not acceptable now.”

Miller is even barred from lighting a cigar in his very own factory – a cigar factory! And so, as a photographer busily snaps pictures of the tycoon in his now mostly vacant domain, the tycoon in question is reduced to posing with an unlit stogie.

“The business is too heavily taxed,” he complains “You can’t smoke anywhere.”

Still, the F. Correnti cigar company smoulders on, catering to a rump of loyal clients who have long counted on the firm to supply them with high-quality smoking material fashioned from Cuban tobacco exclusively.

It isn’t big business anymore.

“We don’t chase the market,” Miller concedes. “We just supply old, steady customers. We make custom orders.”

According to Miller’s 27-year-old son, Chris, those customers include a clutch of readily recognizable names, including U.S. film stars Charlie Sheen, Tommy Lee Jones and Adam Sandler.

Hockey executive Glen Sather is another faithful and long-time consumer of F. Correnti products, says Chris.

Loyal they might be, but such luminaries belong to a diminishing breed. Even Fidel Castro gave up cigars years ago.

“We were a full house back in the old days,” says Chris, who now helps run the cigar business along with his older brother Jeff, 32. “We were backed up six months.”

Not anymore.

Licenced as an insurance broker, Johnny Miller admits he does not rely on cigars alone to get by.

Neither of his two sons works at the cigar factory full-time, either. A daughter, Kelly, doesn’t work here at all.

Not many people do.

Located above the impressively renovated offices of Uniq Lifestyle – “a dynamic entertainment company at the forefront of Toronto’s upscale nightlife community” – the well-worn work floor at F. Correnti contains a dozen wooden tables that in busier times would have been occupied all day long.

They are mostly empty now, and just one employee has reported for work today.

She is Lien Trinh. Born in Vietnam, Trinh has rolled cigars at F. Correnti for the past 29 years, but the work these days is on the spotty side – just a single shift of gainful employment in an average week, she says.

“She just came in today because you guys were coming in,” admits Chris.

Nonetheless, Trinh has been hard at work, and a large stack of freshly rolled cigars is accumulating at her side, as she expertly cuts, moistens, and fashions one puro cubano after another, in what has become a rather lonely job.

“I come,” she says. “Nobody else comes.”

Only two cigar-makers remain in business in Toronto – F. Correnti and House of Horvath Inc., a manufacturer of machine-made cigars, located on Ossington St. just north of Queen St. W.

In addition to being the sole surviving producer of handmade cigars in Canada, F. Correnti also lays claim to being the country’s only extant maker of Cuban cigars. “Cuban tobacco is what we demand,” says Johnny Miller, whose father, Kai, established the business shortly after moving his family to Toronto from Denmark in 1956. “Tobacco has to go through its natural stages. There are very few countries in the world willing to take that time. That’s what makes Cuba so special. They don’t take shortcuts.”

Once upon a time, Miller travelled to the Caribbean island regularly to place his tobacco orders on the spot, but not anymore.

“I used to go a couple of times a year,” he says. “Now you can just send an email.”

Ordering Cuban tobacco via email – it seems to lack a certain romance. But that’s the cigar business for you. It’s not what it used to be.

“I don’t smoke that much anymore,” admits the last cigar tycoon in a cold and increasingly smoke-free land. “Now a cigar is more of a symbol. It’s part of your image. You don’t even need to smoke it anymore.”

In most places, of course, you can’t.

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – The Victory Cigar Club was established on the Victory Base Complex in 2008.
The goal of the original founders was to provide a loosely structured forum for amateur cigar aficionados to congregate and enjoy a good smoke. The club is based on VBC but has other chapters throughout Iraq.

Since its conception, the club has grown in popularity and membership, boasting more than 300 members. Membership is open to everyone to include service members regardless of rank, DOD contractors and civilians alike. Club meetings provide a laid back atmosphere complete with live music, food, the all-favorite ‘Near Beer,’ and occasionally a celebrity guest appearance.

The Victory Cigar Club occasionally assists and co-sponsors USO tours and MWR events.

One main event was the NFL coaches’ tour held at Al Faw Palace in Baghdad, formally one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces.

Since the original founding of the club, many stateside contributors have made it possible for the Victory Cigar Club to sustain its growing popularity and membership. Almost all cigars are donated by various organizations or cigar manufacturers. Without the generous donations from Reyes family cigars in Miami, Fumar Cigars in Phoenix, Leaf and Bean from McMurray, Pa., and Uptown Cigar in Westerville, Ohio, the club could not continue to operate at the level at which it does.

The 639th Combat Sustainment Support Company of the Montana Army National Guard has more than 20 Soldiers who have joined the club and attend the bi-weekly meetings. The meetings provide a much needed break from the stresses of the day-to-day operations. Many of the 639th Soldiers had never enjoyed a premium cigar until they attended their first meeting.

As the word spreads and popularity grows, more 639th Soldiers continue to attend the bi-weekly cigar socials. Club meetings also provide a forum for officers and NCOs to get some valuable face time with counterparts from other units. All members enjoy the relaxed atmosphere while some mix business with pleasure, taking the opportunity to network with their peers.

The club elects officers to manage the donated supplies and to coordinate special events. Nominations are very informal and often humorous. Any member can hold a position in office. Newly elected officers are often “thrown under the bus” by other members during the nomination process. The members of the club may believe one particular person may be suited for a position or just want to have some fun at their buddy’s expense. In spite of the sometimes humorous nomination and “confirmation” process, club officers take their new responsibilities seriously.

Since some aspects of club meetings are not covered by donations, membership dues are collected from E-6 and above. The club holds raffles and sells coins, T-shirts and golf towels to fund club functions.

The Victory Cigar Club is a non-profit organization. However, the fact that there is money involved requires a treasurer to manage funds. The club quartermaster handles all inventory and donated items; other “Executive” Offices include the Club President, Vice President, Secretary and Assistant Quartermaster.

The Victory Cigar Club recently bid farewell to some of its outgoing members and officers.

Sgt. Joseph Buccini, Spc. Gregory Hill, Chief Warrant Officer 3 John Dill are among the Club Officers who have completed their tours and will be returning home. They are good friends and will be sorely missed by many members and guests alike.

The Victory Cigar Club needs more members and good officers to keep its everlasting flame burning and to allow the proud few to say “We Smoked’em in Iraq!”

Copyright © 2009 Dvidshub

If you are looking for something new to try as dessert, try smoking Cuban cigars. You will find the experience amazing as Cuban cigars always offer a particular flavor. If you want to give this a try, there are a few things that you should know in order to maximize the positive effects and avoid any unpleasant effects

An important thing that you should avoid is to smoke and eat at the same time. The goal is for you to enjoy both the food and the flavor of the cigar; therefore mixing them would be an unadvisable thing to do. The best thing to do is to smoke the Cuban cigars before or after your meals. Besides that, there are also some aspects that you should keep in mind when it comes to always realize the most suitable combinations.

The first tip to make your ‘desert’ enjoyable is to avoid smoking and eat at the same time. The goal is for you to enjoy both the food and the flavor of the cigar. Mixing them together would result in an unpleasant taste in your mouth. The best route is to smoke the Cuban cigars before or after your meals.

Your choice of light, medium or strong cigar should depend on the types of food you are going to eat. Also, you should choose the kind of Cuban cigar that you smoke based on the moment of the day as well. For example, it is more enjoyable if you smoke a light Cuban cigar after your breakfast than to smoke a stronger cigar. If you want to smoke your Cuban cigar before your meal, a drink would go hand-in-hand with it as it will not only enhance the cigar’s flavor but also give you better appetite.

Smoking before or after your meal is entirely up to you. Every smoker admits that smoking a Cuban cigar gives you a wonderful feeling. So, why not make it your “dessert”? However, you should try every option you have to decide on your own what kind of “smoking ritual” you prefer when it comes to Cuban cigars. As for the flavor of the Cuban cigars, you have a wide range of special products to choose from.

To find the best places to enjoy your cigars, do some research on the best cigar lounge, cigar lounge reviews by other people and cigar blogs to find out what other peoples’ experience with cigar are like. So if you are looking to experience something new and unconventional, try the Cuban cigars. You might not need your sweet desserts after this!

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — During the months of October and November, Altadis U.S.A. and its retailers will be sponsoring “A Special Evening of Cigars, Camaraderie & Caring,” to be hosted by retail tobacconists nationwide. The event, entitled “Operation Hope,” will benefit the Montecristo Relief Organization.

The Montecristo Relief Organization was founded in 1999 by Altadis U.S.A. after two devastating hurricanes swept through the Caribbean causing unimaginable terror and destruction. More than 11,000 people were killed, millions injured and millions more left homeless and without means of support. Over the past 10 years, the Montecristo Relief Organization has donated millions of dollars to build homes, schools and medical facilities and provide scholarships and economic opportunities for victims in the Caribbean and the United States.

Consumers attending the event make a $75 donation to the charity. In return they receive special limited-edition gift boxes of Montecristo cigars and Signature Accessories valued at more than $125.

“We are extremely grateful to our retailers and consumers who have supported the Montecristo Relief Organization over the years,” said Altadis U.S.A. executive vice president Jim Colucci. “The financial aid we have received has made a huge difference to those who depend on us to help rebuild their lives.”

Materials announcing the date and time of the event will begin appearing in retails stores shortly.

Altadis U.S.A., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is a leading cigar maker that generates more than half of its parent Altadis S.A.’s worldwide cigar sales. Altadis U.S.A. manufactures and markets both premium and mass-market cigars under such brand names as Don Diego, El Producto, H. Upmann and Montecristo.


September 18, 2009 Cspnet

SEABROOK — Smoke got in the eyes of Planning Board members while they considered letting a cigar shop sell liquor to its customers, causing the board to put a hold on granting permission until the owner ensures the smell of cigars stops bothering neighbors.

Roy Kirby, owner of Two Guys Smoke Shop, went to Tuesday night’s Planning Board meeting hoping to gain approval to establish a cigar bar at his Lafayette Road retail store. The discussion was expected to revolve around the number of seats in the shop versus the number of parking spaces required if the store were to change from retail to lounge-like liquor service.

But when Planning Board members heard complaints from one of Kirby’s abutters that cigar smoke from the shop smells up his yard, the board took notice.

Before they consider granting Kirby permission to sell liquor at his store — which could possibly increase smoke in the shop — the board told Kirby he had to develop a plan and return for another hearing on Oct. 20 showing how he will stop cigar smoke from permeating the neighborhood.

Jim Sanborn, who lives about 150 feet from Two Guys Smoke Shop, said that especially during summer months, the smell is so offensive that he lives with the heat instead of opening up his windows.

“We can’t open our windows, and we don’t have air conditioning,” Sanborn told Planning Board members Tuesday night. “We suffer. We don’t smoke, and cigars (smell) worse than cigarettes. (They should keep the smoke) inside and kill themselves, not me.”

Planning Board Chairwoman Susan Foote agreed. She’s smelled cigar smoke in the air in that neighborhood on hot, humid nights when the air stagnates, she said.

But when Kirby and his attorney, Mary Gantz, suggested the hearing was about getting approval to serve liquor and not about smoke, Planning Board members bristled.

“You don’t have the right to let odors leave your property to offend abutters,” said Vice Chairman Don Hawkins. “If you’re asking us to do something new in this store, we have the right to ask you to (do something that prevents the smoke bothering the neighbors).”

Foote said had the board known a cigar shop was going to lease the building when they were considering the project, the board would have discussed proper ventilation that would protect the neighborhood.

Foote also questioned how Kirby was already letting his customers bring and store their own bottles of brandy or Scotch in the store’s liquor cabinet so that they can smoke and have a drink while watching a big-screen TV with their friends. No one passed that piece of information by the Planning Board, and that can make a difference in the number of parking spaces needed at the store, she said. The original concept was for a cigar and magazine store, where patrons would go in and out quickly, lessening the need for spaces.

In a prior interview, Kirby said he had cleared the concept with the New Hampshire Liquor Commission and got an OK before he began the practice.

It’s a newly passed New Hampshire law that allows cigar stores to sell liquor to their customers, as long as they meet stringent requirements, Gantz said. Kirby is moving on the idea to increase business because things have been very slow because of the recession, he said.

“Basically, you’re saying it’s already going on, but (your customers) bring their own bottles,” Foote said. “Now you want to sell liquor so they can’t bring in their own (liquor).”

Kirby explained he’s not interested in creating a “bar atmosphere,” just a place where people can enjoy fine cigars and fine liquors, both of which he wants to sell.

New Hampshire’s new law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2010, and prevents the cigar bars that serve liquor from serving food or allowing cigarette smoking or minors on the premises. Sixty percent of sales must be from cigars or cigar-related products, and a humidor must be present.

There’s nothing harder for a parent than to watch their child’s favorite sports team lose a big game. It means so much to them and you’re totally helpless to change the outcome.

On Saturday night I rushed home to watch the University of Southern California vs. Ohio State game.

I sent a one-word Blackberry message to my son JT, a student at USC who loves his school team.

“Nervous?”

His answer was also just one word.

“Very.”

I tapped a message back to him: “Don’t worry, I’m about to light a lucky cigar.”

I imagined he would smile when he read it.

I thought back to a column I had written eight years ago. This is it:

Two weeks ago I was in St. Bart’s with my family. My 12-year-old son JT and I had a mission to find a place where we could watch the Jets game.

After many inquiries we heard that a local bar, the Santa Fe Club, would have the game on. On Sunday we left the beach early and drove the dangerous roads to the bar. Coming out of the bright sun into the dark bar was a shock. The bar was filled with Miami and New England fans who were cheering their teams into the playoffs. If you remember, the situation was this: Either Cleveland or Miami had to lose their game and the Jets had to win their game in order for the Jets to get into the playoffs. It was a long shot, to say the least.

When we arrived we learned that Cleveland had already won their game and Miami was winning by 11 points over New England with just five minutes left to play.

“Let’s go, Dad. It’s over. The Jets are finished,” JT said, fighting back the tears.

“Wait a minute. Wait a minute. It’s not over. Don’t give up.”

“I just wanted to see the Jets get into the playoffs,” said JT, head down. “Let’s go, I can’t watch this.”

Now, in the annals of fatherhood, every once in a while you get lucky and pull one out of your ear. I want to be a great father to my five kids, but most of the time I bumble. I don’t communicate. I come from a long line of well-meaning but lousy communicators. But this time I got lucky.

“Ordinarily, I would agree with you, JT. But this time I have this,” I said, dramatically pulling a Cuban cigar out of my pocket. “This is a lucky cigar and if I light it and smoke it, Miami loses and the Jets will win.”

JT took a step back and looked at me as if I was out of my mind. No, I wasn’t crazy – I was desperate, and if you’re a parent you know what I mean.

From the first puff, my cigar voodoo worked. Puff one, the Miami kicker shanked one and New England had the ball. They scored. They made a two-point conversion. JT was now looking at my cigar with respect. I was smiling. New England was scoring. Miami was choking.

Now the score was tied. We were in overtime. Then, in overtime, with JT hiding his head in a corner because he couldn’t bear to look, I puffed away as the New England kicker kicked a long wobbly field goal to win the game.

JT and I high-fived each other. Now the Jets had to win their game.

“Dad? Do you have enough of the lucky cigar left for the Jets game?”

I looked at my half-smoked cigar and replied, “I don’t know, it’s a long game.”

“Dad, did you ever smoke cigarettes?”

“Yes, I did a long time ago. But I haven’t touched a cigarette for 25 years.”

“They sell them here. Would you smoke a lucky cigarette if your lucky cigar runs out?”

I didn’t hesitate for a second. “Of course I will.”

The cigar was like the eternal flame. It lasted as the Jets won the game easily. I put my arm around JT’s shoulder as we happily walked out.

“The thing that gets me,” I said, “is that the Jets will never know it was my lucky cigar that got them into the playoffs.”

JT looked at me and laughed.

Sometimes the great moments in a father-son relationship, moments that will be remembered for the rest of their lives, happen in the strangest of places. This time it was a dark, dank bar in St. Bart’s called Santa Fe.

Last Saturday night I sat alone in my living room watching the Ohio State University of Southern California the game with JT, who was 3000 miles away but seconds away by Blackberry Messenger.

USC was losing until the last 90 seconds. I was on my second lucky cigar, a little nauseous, but when it comes to lucky cigars you have to stay with them until the end. Then, in a wild finish, USC won, and I must admit that I was so happy that JT was so happy that I had tears in my eyes. Maybe it was because the room was so full of cigar smoke. That’s what I told myself: Those lucky cigars could bring tears to your eyes.

If you wish to comment on “Jerry’s Ink,” send your message to jerry@dfjp.com

La Casa de la Habana is a lavish two-story cigar-centric venue opening in Harmonie Park/Paradise Valley. The 7,000-square-foot space will include retail, which is already open, as well as a cigar and martini lounge and a VIP cigar club, which will open in a few weeks.

The retail aspect of La Casa includes a Spanish cedar walk-in humidor stocked with cigars from around the world. Aficionados also will find cigar and pipe accessories, wine and a shoeshiner — plus the skills of Luis Acosta, a Cuban master cigar roller, who is La Casa’s in-house cigar maker.

In another wing of the building, Camancho Cigan & Martini Bar will serve cigars, premium coffees, martinis and mojitos with a side of live music.

The second floor of La Casa is closed to the public. The VIP cigar club has a labyrinth of smoking lounges, a meeting room, private lockers-slash-humidors, WI-FI, and a VIP only bar.

La Casa is owned by Ismail Houmain and has other locations in Toledo, OH, Ann Arbor and Plymouth. The Harmonie Park location will celebrate its grand opening on October 23 and 24. It is situated at 1502 Randolph.

Source: Maria Petrenko, La Casa de la Habana
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh

The D.C. Council already came for your single beers, now they want your cigars, as well.
In 2004, a bill championed by then Councilmember Adrian Fenty, banned the sale of single bottles and cans of beer. Its passing drew protests from owners of small grocers and their poorer customers. Now Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander wants to do the same for single cigar sales at gas stations and convenience stores.

Her reasoning is that some customers frequently buy single cigars so that they can hollow them out and pack them with marijuana to create blunts. Tobacco store owners worry that such a ban could seriously affect their sales because their customers often buy premium cigars one or two at a time.

While presumably well-meaning, the bill would only ban one of several ways that pot smokers go about getting high, while punishing business at the same time. Expect some backlash from this one, as well.

Sep 10, 2009 Nbcwashington