This past week Susan had a photoshoot scheduled with the talented Stephen Chow. So of course she had to bring a cigar along to smoke and shoot for you guys (and gals), our friends and readers. We chose the Rocky Patel - HAMELT 2020.

I have been aging a couple of Rocky Patel - ALR (Aged. Limited. Rare) box-pressed toros in my humidor for about one year now. You’ll want to think about the namesake of this cigar:

Lately Susan and I have been craving a getaway. You know, a nice lounge chair next to a pool or on a sandy beach with a cocktail and a cigar burning in the hot afternoon sun... but alas, Covid-19 (that dreaded phrase) aren’t really allowing for much international travel right now. So, we brought a little ‘Cuba with a Twist’ to our home instead.

It’s been a cold last week with this polar-vortex rolling through North America and particularly western Canada. With temperatures in our area hitting -40 (both Celsius and Fahrenheit) Susan and I decided to smoke inside the house this cold February evening. As always, Susan cranked up the heat, both literally and figuratively. Comfort is important my friends.

For this article I decided to dive into the “Smoking With Chris” archives and I found this rare and wonderful cigar memory. Behold the Cohiba Behike BHK-56! Let’s first take a little walk into the Cohibas history. Cohiba is the premier brand of Habanos which was initiated in 1966 as a limited production that was exclusively for Fidel Castro and high-level officials of the Communist Party of Cuba. Often these Cohibas were gifted out as diplomatic gifts to politicians and important people from other countries by Fidel Castro himself. They were made in the now famous El Laguito Factory in Havana, Cuba.

Released in 2013, the Nica Rustica El Brujito by Drew Estate is a tribute to Esteli (Nicaragua), its people, and the leaf that is grown there. Jonathan Drew of Drew Estates calls it ‘El Brujito’, meaning ‘Witch Doctor’ or to the locals of Esteli, ‘The Shaman’. Witch doctors are deep in the history of Esteli and in ancient times used tobacco in healing and ceremonial rituals. This is why every box of the Nica Rustica El Brujito has the symbol of The Shaman on the lid.

There are a few different ways to light a cigar, the most common being wood matches or butane lighters

A few weeks back Susan and I took a weekend trip to the mountains.