[Baron von BeeGee]

Good review...I had to have one last night just for comparison's sake, and you're right. It definitely has an herbal quality about it which I dig. Plus it just looks cool and is as easy to light as they come!

[disaffected]

In case anyone is interested on saving a bit of money on propylene glycol solution for your humidor, I found a good source. You can get food grade propylene glycol at The Chemistry Store for $17.88 per gallon.

Shipping from SC to TX was $10.61 UPS ground. They charge a $3 handling fee, so my total cost was about $31 for a gallon.

You mix it 50:50 with distilled water. It is far more economical to buy it this way than to buy the pre-diluted 50:50 solution for $10 a pint from your tobacconist.

[SwAMi75]

Originally Posted by beer4breakfast

In case anyone is interested on saving a bit of money on propylene glycol solution for your humidor, I found a good source. You can get food grade propylene glycol at The Chemistry Store for $17.88 per gallon.

Shipping from SC to TX was $10.61 UPS ground. They charge a $3 handling fee, so my total cost was about $31 for a gallon.

You mix it 50:50 with distilled water. It is far more economical to buy it this way than to buy the pre-diluted 50:50 solution for $10 a pint from your tobacconist.

While less economical, I've switched to the beads from this place: http://www.heartfeltindustries.com/Home.htm

I've found that my humidors don't swing as much now. I use the 65% beads.

[SwAMi75]

And on cigars......I smoked a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero lancero the other night. One strong, tasty mofo! First lancero I've had, too.....I felt like a midget smoking a Virginia Slim.

[disaffected]

Those beads are quite an innovative humidification idea. I'd go with the 65% RH beads too. 70% is too damp for most of my cigars, and when it's warm weather, I worry about mold.

I might give those a try in my smaller humidor that holds a couple of boxes of cigars. And the smallest tube would be more convenient for my little travel humidor (roughly six or seven stick) than a traditional humidifier.

I bookmarked that site. I'm in love with that glass front cabinet humidor. What a beauty, and a well-thought out design. I've thought about making one similar to that for a long time. My larger humidor is a small cabinet type with five drawers. Each drawer will hold about 1.5 to 2 boxes of cigars depending on the size. That's loose cigars out of the box, though; it can't accommodate cigars in their boxes. That's something I've always wanted.

[disaffected]

Originally Posted by SwAMi75

And on cigars......I smoked a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero lancero the other night. One strong, tasty mofo! First lancero I've had, too.....I felt like a midget smoking a Virginia Slim.

I haven't had one of those, but I understand they are supposed to be a very good smoke if you like a very strong cigar. In general, I don't care for La Flor Dominicana anyway, and I tend to avoid many of the strongest cigars.

I like a medium to full-bodied cigar of medium strength, generally, although I do like my Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970's. They are like a stick of ligero dynamite; I have to smoke them very carefully. So if you like the La Flor Double Ligero Lancero, you'll almost certainly like the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño 1970.

The sun-grown Ashton Puro Sol with its incredible Cameroon wrapper is more my speed when it comes to a fuller smoke. But today, I smoked one of my rich and sweetly balanced Camacho Corojo Churchills. What a great smoke!

[Baron von BeeGee]

I've switched to the beads, too, or at least a derivative of them. Just add distilled water and good to go.

[Baron von BeeGee]

Originally Posted by beer4breakfast

If you haven't yet tried the Padilla Miami, I recommend it as well. I enjoyed it as much as the Habano.

I smoked this yesterday (that SwAMi was kind enough to send along)...another very nice cigar. I think it was probably the same or similar blend as the Habano, just different format. Again, no real acridness although the strength did seem to creep up towards the end, and of course it burned a little hotter than the Habano. It was a great cigar for chilling out with during my boil yesterday while sipping an IPA (or two). It seemed to have a really nice and satisfying amount of smoke for a smaller format. Overall I preferred the Habano, but wouldn't kick the Miami out of my humidor.

[SwAMi75]

Originally Posted by Baron von BeeGee

I smoked this yesterday (that SwAMi was kind enough to send along)...another very nice cigar. I think it was probably the same or similar blend as the Habano, just different format. Again, no real acridness although the strength did seem to creep up towards the end, and of course it burned a little hotter than the Habano. It was a great cigar for chilling out with during my boil yesterday while sipping an IPA (or two). It seemed to have a really nice and satisfying amount of smoke for a smaller format. Overall I preferred the Habano, but wouldn't kick the Miami out of my humidor.

Lucky you....the Habanos are a lot cheaper! I think the blend is similar, but overall the Habano is milder. I don't know who blended the Habano, but the Miami is blended and rolled in Pepin Garcia's factory in Miami (where Tatuaje's are made). Padilla doesn't make cigars per se.....has them made in different factories. These are the only two of his brand I've had, but I've heard good things abut all of them. He seems to have a knack for quality.

Sorry for the tangent. I'm both a Pepin Garcia and a Padilla fan. Glad you liked them both!

The only thing I've smoked recently that really blew me away was a Joya de Nicaragua Antano 1970. Some say this is about the strongest cigar on the market. I thought it was pretty damn potent, but man was it tasty. I believe the ne I had was a Grand Robusto.....supposedly the littlest one, called a "Machito," is also the strongest. Got me a box of Lanceros on the way.....these are a great valuse, too. I think they'd be good at twice the price.

[Baron von BeeGee]

I rang in the new year (well, it would have been new year somewhere in the Atlantic) with a Romeo y Julieta Exhibicion No. 4....one of my favorites.