The Thanksgiving day was a smashing success this year.
The day started out with the men going out to the golf course for a friendly round of nine holes. When we got home, the house was reeking of what was to be THE best Thanksgiving meal the entire family ever had! We settled in for the 1st football game, an upset of magnitude proportions, and then ate dinner. The 2nd game was about to start when we gathered outside(the joy of living in Florida!!!!)and asked all of the smokers if they'd like a cigar. It was a resounding "Hell yeah!", and with that, I produced a box of these wonderful looking cigars.
We were fortunate to have the 1st box released, and they were the Robusto size. Perfect while you're waiting for a meal to settle, watching a game, and waiting for the pies to come out of the oven!
The cuts were made(various ones at that)and we all settled in for an adventure in taste that ONLY Bucanero can claim. The first inch of this cigar tasted very familiar, almost like the Crew offering, but that quickly stopped and it developed into a flavorful thick smoke that had the most pleasant after-taste. This isn't going to knock anyone out or make your tastebuds wave white flags like a Frenchman, but it will leave you wanting to savor every inch of this fine tribute to one of the most intricate blenders to grace the cigar world, Mr. Don Douglas. He's the man responsible for many of the Bucanero profiles and a consumate professional. Robert & John Spoden's wanted to show their gratitude to him and this offering is worthy of all praise. It does all a service to quality.
The Robusto lasted over an hour for me, which was really odd. Most of the time this size lasts 15 minutes to a half-hour, but this even burning tribute was clinging to me like Eddie's white sweater(see Christmas Vacation). It never needed a touchup from a lighter, and it held a firm ash, as all Bucanero's are famous for!
The adult libations were out in effect, and rum was the chosen victim. The PERFECT companion for a Bucanero. The converstions about this fine burning cigar went around the table while we were playing dominos. "Nutty", "Creamy", "Thick", "Spicy aftertaste" were some of the common adjectives tossed around. The air was fragrant with the exhales of this tribute offering, and I couldn't help but think of Mr. Douglas sacrificing himself to develop each and every one of his formulas, and the friendship that the Spoden's have to want to devote a line to their friend. When the cigar was down to the nub, I thought of my friends at Bucanero that thought enough of me to send this out so we could all enjoy this for Thanksgiving. My entire family loved the cigar, not a bad word about it, except..."Great! Another tough decision I have to make when I'm in a humidor!"
Because of my family's hectic schedule we celebrated Christmas as well, many of them will be out of state and out of the country for the season, and as most of the guests were leaving that night, my father(who was born and raised in Cuba, left before Castro took over)leaned over to me and said; "Son, you've got a great annual event in the making. With golf,fine meal,cigars,rum and the gathering of extended family being in one room...See ya next year, and can we book the spare bedroom?"
Thought I'd share this "review".
