Thank you…hopefully it lasts only a few days.
I’ve already watched everything on Netflix three times.
I’ll know better tomorrow if it is just a nuisance…or I will need a Playboy bunny private nurse.
Hi Dennis,
Thank you…it’s just a run of the mill head cold…but I still feel like shit. The part I like the best is extreme fatigue but feel too lousy to sleep.
I’m over the hump, I think.
It is harder to get over colds quickly when you are nearly as old as Moses. Other than that, I am healthy and fit. So, nothing to complain about…but that won’t stop me from doing so.
Be well and thanks for checking in…
Phil
That is a great slogan to get more people to come live in California.
Born and raised in Long Beach, I have a slightly different opinion about never getting sick; but it would be wonderful if your statement was the case.
Have been back a lot as part of my job and boy, I couldn’t afford to live there without becoming an expensive hit man.
And no such thing as rush hour on the freeways any longer. It is grid lock 24/7 now.
All my friends, that still live, there have been forced into the high desert areas of bum fuck egypt to stay afloat as they are retired as well.
We lived there until I was 55 in 2005. Milwaukee sucks…but a $200K house here goes for $3M there. And rush hour? If it gets swamped, it takes an extra 7 minutes to get where you are going.
But, alas, I miss the ocean. Lake Michigan is a poor substitute. Brrrr…
I do believe I’m getting better and going to try my first cigar this morning.
Hope you’re feeling better dude…you’ve become part of my dally ritual along with checking texts, reading emails and the watching the news. I always check out your latest review or look to see if you’ve reviewed a stick in the past that I’m contemplating before I commit to buy. I do have a question for you while you’re convalescing…regarding production cigars. If a cigar was introduced 5 years ago and you gave it a good review/rating and I buy some today, are those cigars from the same batch of tobaccos as the release only 5 years older in aging, or are they rolled from new tobaccos of the same type and origins? Inquiring minds want to know!
Hey Skip,
There is no one answer to your question. For the most part, blends change over years. Usually cheaper tobacco is used.
I had a whole list of fave cigars from 5 years ago that taste nothing like they do now.
The usual scams that so many manufacturers play…both major and boutique.
Was going to write a review this morning but we spent a couple hours in line at Brewer’s Miller Park getting covid tested because family members who believe covid is fake news are sick now. Will try again tomorrow.
Phil
HI Phil. Hope you guys all test negative. Skips question made me think of one of the RP blends that has been on sale many places and on cbid for 8 or 10 years the vintage 1979. Raises many questions. Is the tobacco from a 1979 harvest tthey had such an abundance of that they have been rolling them for that long? Are the cigars all from 1979 etc? I realize it is probably just a contiuous marketing thing. Which leads to a bigger question what is the optimum time frame a cigar can age. I know it is going to vary, however, as we have found even very good cigars lose their oomph after 6-8 years or more while retaining a soupcon of the profile they had when they were younger. (That is a genrallity as somewhere there may be ones that just keep getting better I just have not run into them). This leads to another line of inquiry regarding what one is buying on clearance sales and auctions. Once in awhile I have seen packaging dates on some items, but usually hard to tell when they were rolled. I think 4-5 years may be the max to age most cigars?
Hey Andy,
Yikes. I will put on my quasi cigar industry cap and try to flesh this out.
First, the RP web site shows 56 of their cigar blends. The 1979 is not there.
Yet, they are available from most of the usual suspects. Around $12 per stick.
The African Cameroon wrapper is being touted as the original leaf from 1979. And currently maintains that status.
Is it true? Who knows?
Aging is so tricky. I reviewed an Opus X that was over 20 years old and it was great.
I’ve reviewed other blends a year old and they were trashed and toasted…maybe not in that order.
I wish I had a more definitive answer for you but every blend is different.
Readers send me cigars occasionally and they are clearly old. And taste terrible. The problem with gifted cigars is you don’t know how well they were taken care of. Makes all the difference in the world.
I’ve gone through a shit load of cigars I was looking forward to only to find they died a horrible death some time ago. A couple hits and into the paper shredder they went.
To be honest, it’s a roll of the dice. Sometimes you find one that nails it out of the park. And most of the time, you have a cigar that used piss poor tobacco and was only a glint in some manufacturer’s eye for the quick sell. They were never meant to last.
Cigars on auction sites are those that are normally rock steady and have been around for a long time. You never see something new and exciting on those sites.
Covid fucked up 2020 cigar releases. All the big cigar companies barely released anything this year. No PCA convention this last summer so they said fuck it…next year.
PLenty of boutique brands to pick from…but more and more, the Limited Edition is the flavor of the month. I stopped reviewing those a while back. If no one can buy them, why review them? I might purchase some because I truly respect the manufacturer and want to taste what they are up to.
I realize I’ve been of no help. But like every other smoker, you takes your chances every time you buy a cigar.
As far as covid goes…it is rampaging through Wisconsin. We are a hot spot. People who got through the spring are now getting it.
We are shitting ourselves waiting for out test results. 3 days. An email if we test negative. A phone call if we test positive.
But then “We are turning the corner on the Corona virus.” At least that’s what the prez says.
And the deniers who think it is all media hype and a Democrat conspiracy are getting sick right along with everyone else.
I read that most doctors have decided to stop predicting as it seems of no use.
Good luck to us all…
Phil
Your health is always important to me. When you reached out years back, I sent you some dinero. You have saved me thousands of dollars, as I collect cigars. Anyhow, your palate seems very close to mine, and I use your reviews to make purchasing decisions.
……. So the real reason I’m writing is the “Cigarmedics HumidiMeter”. What do you know…..should I have one? I buy cigars and let them rest a long time (often at your suggestions). Letting them rest longer has often paid great dividends (except for most of AJF’s blends). When you tell me 3-4 months, most times you are right on……. so should I own a HumidiMeter?
PS: The PerfecDraw tool has also been a lifesaver. Yes I am a sycophant. Love you man.Thanks for everything!!!
Hi Charlie,
I had never heard of the device til you brought it to my attention.
I did some research and I’m not sure if this is snake oil or the real deal.
Halfwheel did a nice review…click here.
I also went to the manufacturer’s web site…click here.
I find it odd that the manufacturer does not mention what is the specific humidity level that is correct for the guts of your cigar. Is it 70%? Or is it 65%? What if the humidity inside is higher than 70%? What does that mean?
Do you treat it the same way you like to maintain your humidor’s humidity level? I have no idea. The info provided is slim.
At only $25, the worst that can happen is you have another piece of cigar paraphernalia junk to throw in your cigar crap box in the closet.
Halfwheel gives the product a “soft yes” for purchase. I believe there are too many open ended questions here.
And then there is the $64K question…how was man able to smoke his cigars before this contraption came into being?
I suppose if you have OCD about your collection because it is made up of a lot of high premium cigars…it can’t hurt.
But I would be skeptical that this meter will change your life into a lake of swans and orchids.
Last question by me…say you have one humidor or many. Say you test 5 cigars from the same humidor and they all read out differently. Then what? How do you arbitrate your humidor’s humidity properly? A cigar may have 69% humidity and the one sitting next to it has 64% humidity. The structure and construction of the cigar will play a huge part. If you don’t like the reading on the meter, what do you do? Dry box it if it is too high? Move it to another humidor? If it is too low…?
Amazon has 32 reviews. And none of them make sense to me. They just say what a great device it is. Probably 90% of those reviews are shills.
A comment made on a seller site said this, giving it one star out of five: “I do not believe that it is accurate. The reading is not steady. The % reading declines rapidly so you really don’t gets true measurement. Worthless to me.”
If you do purchase one Charlie, please report back and let us know wassup. And thank you for the warm wishes and kind statement. Means a lot.
I thought my cold was gone but the last couple days I haven’t felt well. Same symptoms as my daughter who has covid. Or it could merely be my cold returning…or the flu…or stress. No idea. Was going to write a review but my throat hurts and I’m so fatigued, I’m jumping back in bed. It’s always something.
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
Hope you get the buds back soon, brother.
Thank you…hopefully it lasts only a few days.
I’ve already watched everything on Netflix three times.
I’ll know better tomorrow if it is just a nuisance…or I will need a Playboy bunny private nurse.
Get well soon! I need you to skewer another cigar so I can laugh out loud. Or enjoy a good one so I can put it on my buy list. Either way. 🙂
Hi Dennis,
Thank you…it’s just a run of the mill head cold…but I still feel like shit. The part I like the best is extreme fatigue but feel too lousy to sleep.
I’m over the hump, I think.
It is harder to get over colds quickly when you are nearly as old as Moses. Other than that, I am healthy and fit. So, nothing to complain about…but that won’t stop me from doing so.
Be well and thanks for checking in…
Phil
No one gets a cold in SoCal
That is a great slogan to get more people to come live in California.
Born and raised in Long Beach, I have a slightly different opinion about never getting sick; but it would be wonderful if your statement was the case.
Have been back a lot as part of my job and boy, I couldn’t afford to live there without becoming an expensive hit man.
And no such thing as rush hour on the freeways any longer. It is grid lock 24/7 now.
All my friends, that still live, there have been forced into the high desert areas of bum fuck egypt to stay afloat as they are retired as well.
We lived there until I was 55 in 2005. Milwaukee sucks…but a $200K house here goes for $3M there. And rush hour? If it gets swamped, it takes an extra 7 minutes to get where you are going.
But, alas, I miss the ocean. Lake Michigan is a poor substitute. Brrrr…
I do believe I’m getting better and going to try my first cigar this morning.
Hope you’re feeling better dude…you’ve become part of my dally ritual along with checking texts, reading emails and the watching the news. I always check out your latest review or look to see if you’ve reviewed a stick in the past that I’m contemplating before I commit to buy. I do have a question for you while you’re convalescing…regarding production cigars. If a cigar was introduced 5 years ago and you gave it a good review/rating and I buy some today, are those cigars from the same batch of tobaccos as the release only 5 years older in aging, or are they rolled from new tobaccos of the same type and origins? Inquiring minds want to know!
Hey Skip,
There is no one answer to your question. For the most part, blends change over years. Usually cheaper tobacco is used.
I had a whole list of fave cigars from 5 years ago that taste nothing like they do now.
The usual scams that so many manufacturers play…both major and boutique.
Was going to write a review this morning but we spent a couple hours in line at Brewer’s Miller Park getting covid tested because family members who believe covid is fake news are sick now. Will try again tomorrow.
Phil
HI Phil. Hope you guys all test negative. Skips question made me think of one of the RP blends that has been on sale many places and on cbid for 8 or 10 years the vintage 1979. Raises many questions. Is the tobacco from a 1979 harvest tthey had such an abundance of that they have been rolling them for that long? Are the cigars all from 1979 etc? I realize it is probably just a contiuous marketing thing. Which leads to a bigger question what is the optimum time frame a cigar can age. I know it is going to vary, however, as we have found even very good cigars lose their oomph after 6-8 years or more while retaining a soupcon of the profile they had when they were younger. (That is a genrallity as somewhere there may be ones that just keep getting better I just have not run into them). This leads to another line of inquiry regarding what one is buying on clearance sales and auctions. Once in awhile I have seen packaging dates on some items, but usually hard to tell when they were rolled. I think 4-5 years may be the max to age most cigars?
Hey Andy,
Yikes. I will put on my quasi cigar industry cap and try to flesh this out.
First, the RP web site shows 56 of their cigar blends. The 1979 is not there.
Yet, they are available from most of the usual suspects. Around $12 per stick.
The African Cameroon wrapper is being touted as the original leaf from 1979. And currently maintains that status.
Is it true? Who knows?
Aging is so tricky. I reviewed an Opus X that was over 20 years old and it was great.
I’ve reviewed other blends a year old and they were trashed and toasted…maybe not in that order.
I wish I had a more definitive answer for you but every blend is different.
Readers send me cigars occasionally and they are clearly old. And taste terrible. The problem with gifted cigars is you don’t know how well they were taken care of. Makes all the difference in the world.
I’ve gone through a shit load of cigars I was looking forward to only to find they died a horrible death some time ago. A couple hits and into the paper shredder they went.
To be honest, it’s a roll of the dice. Sometimes you find one that nails it out of the park. And most of the time, you have a cigar that used piss poor tobacco and was only a glint in some manufacturer’s eye for the quick sell. They were never meant to last.
Cigars on auction sites are those that are normally rock steady and have been around for a long time. You never see something new and exciting on those sites.
Covid fucked up 2020 cigar releases. All the big cigar companies barely released anything this year. No PCA convention this last summer so they said fuck it…next year.
PLenty of boutique brands to pick from…but more and more, the Limited Edition is the flavor of the month. I stopped reviewing those a while back. If no one can buy them, why review them? I might purchase some because I truly respect the manufacturer and want to taste what they are up to.
I realize I’ve been of no help. But like every other smoker, you takes your chances every time you buy a cigar.
As far as covid goes…it is rampaging through Wisconsin. We are a hot spot. People who got through the spring are now getting it.
We are shitting ourselves waiting for out test results. 3 days. An email if we test negative. A phone call if we test positive.
But then “We are turning the corner on the Corona virus.” At least that’s what the prez says.
And the deniers who think it is all media hype and a Democrat conspiracy are getting sick right along with everyone else.
I read that most doctors have decided to stop predicting as it seems of no use.
Good luck to us all…
Phil
Hi Phil, hope things are looking up.
Your health is always important to me. When you reached out years back, I sent you some dinero. You have saved me thousands of dollars, as I collect cigars. Anyhow, your palate seems very close to mine, and I use your reviews to make purchasing decisions.
……. So the real reason I’m writing is the “Cigarmedics HumidiMeter”. What do you know…..should I have one? I buy cigars and let them rest a long time (often at your suggestions). Letting them rest longer has often paid great dividends (except for most of AJF’s blends). When you tell me 3-4 months, most times you are right on……. so should I own a HumidiMeter?
PS: The PerfecDraw tool has also been a lifesaver. Yes I am a sycophant. Love you man.Thanks for everything!!!
Charlie
Hi Charlie,
I had never heard of the device til you brought it to my attention.
I did some research and I’m not sure if this is snake oil or the real deal.
Halfwheel did a nice review…click here.
I also went to the manufacturer’s web site…click here.
I find it odd that the manufacturer does not mention what is the specific humidity level that is correct for the guts of your cigar. Is it 70%? Or is it 65%? What if the humidity inside is higher than 70%? What does that mean?
Do you treat it the same way you like to maintain your humidor’s humidity level? I have no idea. The info provided is slim.
At only $25, the worst that can happen is you have another piece of cigar paraphernalia junk to throw in your cigar crap box in the closet.
Halfwheel gives the product a “soft yes” for purchase. I believe there are too many open ended questions here.
And then there is the $64K question…how was man able to smoke his cigars before this contraption came into being?
I suppose if you have OCD about your collection because it is made up of a lot of high premium cigars…it can’t hurt.
But I would be skeptical that this meter will change your life into a lake of swans and orchids.
Last question by me…say you have one humidor or many. Say you test 5 cigars from the same humidor and they all read out differently. Then what? How do you arbitrate your humidor’s humidity properly? A cigar may have 69% humidity and the one sitting next to it has 64% humidity. The structure and construction of the cigar will play a huge part. If you don’t like the reading on the meter, what do you do? Dry box it if it is too high? Move it to another humidor? If it is too low…?
Amazon has 32 reviews. And none of them make sense to me. They just say what a great device it is. Probably 90% of those reviews are shills.
A comment made on a seller site said this, giving it one star out of five: “I do not believe that it is accurate. The reading is not steady. The % reading declines rapidly so you really don’t gets true measurement. Worthless to me.”
If you do purchase one Charlie, please report back and let us know wassup. And thank you for the warm wishes and kind statement. Means a lot.
I thought my cold was gone but the last couple days I haven’t felt well. Same symptoms as my daughter who has covid. Or it could merely be my cold returning…or the flu…or stress. No idea. Was going to write a review but my throat hurts and I’m so fatigued, I’m jumping back in bed. It’s always something.
Thanks Charlie and be well,
Phil