Hoyo de Monterey Double Corona

Check out this superb smoke! I am usually not the greatest fan of Hoyo de Monterey which I usually find too soft (when they don't simply lack taste). Both the Epicure Numero 2, and the short robusto are far to meet my standards. But yet another case where cigars (as well as others beings) should not be pronounced guilty by association: the double corona by Hoyo de Monterey is a great cigar!


In this category, my favourite was so far the Ramon Allones Gigantes. It will be probably stay there, though the Hoyo de Monterey may show up in my ranking as a "beautiful loser". It is rather light yet very consistent, and quite subtle : almonds, creamy, caramel, buttery, vanilla. Yummy!

Cohiba Siglo V

I just had one of those. The Cohiba Siglo V is a Dalia (a.k.a. londsale) cigar, which is a format I like very much. I've heard many great comments about this cigar, and I wanted to give it a try. I bought five of them, and I just smoke one of them... So no Definitive comments here. Yet, I have to say, that, so far, I'm not impressed. It is a good cigar of course (it's a Cohiba!), like a Mercedes will always be a good car. But hey! For the same price I can buy two (or at least 1.7) Partagas 8-9-8, and to the best of my knowledge, the 8-9-8 is simply better.

Will keep on trying them :)

Brand : Cohiba
Origin : Cuba
Format : Londsale (Dalia)
Rating : A+ (Pls. refer to my cigar rating chart)



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You can check the whole thing on my Flickr Account.

How to move with you cigars ? (travel humidor - Part. 2)

I have eventually moved to Hong Kong...

No real impact on this blog you may say, that is correct, but a big impact on my cigars ! So here comes the only valid question : how do you move with your cigars ?

Well of course the problem is kind of easy if you're moving from Harlem to Manhattan, or from Shibuya to Shinjyuku, etc. You just bring your humidor along with you. My problem was slightly more complex : I had to move my entire cigar estate (humidor, travel humidor & cigars) from Paris to Hong Kong...

This is where the travel humidor becomes handy, doesn't it ? Well, sadly, not really. The travel humidor I bought a couple of months proved itself to be stylish, well built... but not very functional. Cigars are moving within it when you transport them, and they can easily be damaged. At the top of that, you have to carry the damn thing always on an horizontal position, otherwise you are rocking the cigars even more... Consider it as a transportable humidor, more than a travel humidor. My favourite humidor boutique in Paris (Elie Bleu look for their boutique next to La Concorde, between the Buddha Bar and the Crion Palace Hotel), recommended I buy a "cigar caddy", as the gentleman at Elie Bleu was putting it "the cigar caddy is the exact opposite of your travel humidor : it is hugly, quite cheap, but by far the most convenient way to transport your cigar safely."



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"A third of a Romeo y Julieta will be smoked during this performance. If you find that offensive, f*** off" !!

Check this out !

The war is not over, and the Resistance is getting organized !

Interesting and amusing story (though the end is rather sad...), God save Mel Smith, Churchill and Romeo y Julieta ! (Click on the link

My first box of Ramon Allones Specially Selected (a.k.a. buying cigars on the Internet)

I decided to indulge myself with a box of fine cigars for X'mas this year. Since I have moved to Hong Kong and cigars are kind of expensive over there (yes, it's true), I ordered my box on the Internet from a Swiss website that a Friend had recommanded to me.
It's always tricky to buy cigars on the web, since there are so many fakes on the market... A very good deal can rapidly turn into a true nightmare...
I can only recommand to you www.topcubans.com which really offers a good service, and guarantees the authenticity of its goods. The box of 25 Ramon Allones Specially Selected I bought was delivered very rapidly, in very good conditions (vacuum-sealed), and at a fair price. For sure, they are genuine !

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See all the pictures on my Flickr Account.

Salary survey: marketing industries in China

A quick post about business (it's been a while!).

I just read this interesting survey about salaries in mainland China (it only covers the marketing industries (i.e. my field))... It's always interesting to have some benchmarks anyway. I have ordered a free copy of the whole study (which apparently covers other markets / fields); I'll put that online ASAP.

Meanwhile just follow this link.

Romeo Y Julieta Short Churchill

For a start it is a beautiful cigar ! I bought it in its white and red tube, only to discover a superb cigar in it : majestuous wrapper, gracious double ring : one R&J in red, the other pure gold bearing "Short Churchill".

All right now, so what is a short Churchill ? Contrary to what one may think, it is not only shorter than a regular Churchill (124 mm vs. 178 mm) but suprisingly thicker than its bigger brother (ring 50 vs. ring 47 for the regular Churchill). So... marketing aside, and let's call a cat a cat : it is a Robusto !

The one I tried had a pretty good draw, though probably lacked a bit of panache at the beginning. In its second and third tier, this cigar revealed itself, with rich flavours now becoming obvious : honey, spices, and a light woody something at the top of it... It could not help but remind me of the original one. I did enjoy this smoke !

Brand : Romeo y Julieta
Origin : Cuba
Format : Robusto (a.k.a. Short Churchill)
Rating : A? or AA? gotta smoke more to tell you ;-) (please refer to my Cigar Rating Chart)