Author: Nancy McCoy

March 28 2017 – What’s New

Nancy Wins 2015 NCAA Pool!

And, again, this is awkward.

Every year we do a March Madness pool. This goes back to the first year we were open, so this was our 6th annual pool. Every year it gets bigger. This year we had 19 excited, hopeful participants. In the end, of course, only one could win.

This year, the lucky winner was Nancy! (Me.) nancy at gameThis photo was taken at the NCAA championship in Atlanta in 2013, when our beloved Louisville Cardinals brought home the title. This is pretty much irrelevant to this post other than I like the memory. (Also, I have this picture posted on our Mike’s Cigar Room Wall of Shame to commemorate my victory in the pool. My daughter Sarah saw this yesterday and said, “That’s the picture you want to go with?” I don’t know what she meant by that.)

Also, may I say, with all possible modesty, that this is the 3rd time in 6 years I have won this pool. To those who think the fix is in, take it up with Yahoo. I don’t do the scoring.

The fun part about the Mike’s Cigar Room pool is it makes watching the games at the shop so much more fun and exciting. Games in the first couple of rounds that might otherwise generate very little interest suddenly become riveting. There were some great games this year, even very early.

So, anyway, what was my strategy going in? Strategy may be too strong a word. I won because I made 2 picks that just happened to work. One, I took Wisconsin over Kentucky in the semi-final game, and then Duke over Wisconsin in the final. That’s pretty much it.

Going into the Final Four, the odds on favorite in our pool was David Holmes, who called his bracket “The Spectre of Ashley Judd.” This is a bit of a shot at Kentucky and its fan base. I got it immediately. If Kentucky won the national championship, as it was an overwhelming favorite to do, David would win no matter what else happened at that point.

From the beginning, I didn’t necessarily think Kentucky would lose to anyone. But I reasoned my only real path to victory was to take somebody other than Kentucky, since so many others would be making the safer bet. I decided Wisconsin had the big guys and the general ability to hang with them. Then, because Duke has the most efficient offense in the country, I took them to knock off Wisconsin.

Pretty simplistic analysis. There was a lot of luck there.

Tim Yagley correctly picked all 4 Final Four teams, an incredible feat. Even 7th round Michigan State!

OST Chili Cook-Off 2015

The pool came down to the last game. I had Duke and Tim had Wisconsin. Head to head, winner take all. It was such an exciting game. In the end, Duke managed to pull it off.

The prize was a gift certificate to Mike’s Cigar Room for $190.00.

gift cert for ncaa

This prize may seem like it’s of little financial benefit to me, since I pretty much take whatever I want from the humidor anyway. But it’s about the Glory that goes with it!  Also, “To Nancy from The Losers?” Mike did that. I had nothing to do with it.

We had lots of return players in the pool. Mike, Brad, Brad’s wife Ashley, Chris Harris, Tom McClung and former champ Jerry Winter, just to name a few. Also, the ever optimistic Duc Nguyen, who called his bracket “This is My Year.” It wasn’t.

Golf Duc is a dork

Hope you were able to play. If not, we’ll do it again next year! It will only get bigger!

Cheers!

Mike, Nancy, Brad & Tony

New Year, New Cigars to Try!

Happy New Year!!!

It is a new year, and it’s therefore time to try out some new cigars. Well, new for you, anyway. It’s part of the on-going treasure hunt that defines being a cigar enthusiast. You might find your new favorite. If not, you can go back to your old favorite with a greater appreciation. But the experience is always fun and valuable.

This is the time of year when “Best Cigars of the Year” lists come out. This is a good place to start. Cigar enjoyment is a personal thing, totally subjective, and no magazine or so-called “expert” or “experts” can tell you what you should smoke. But when multiple people with significant cigar experience believe a cigar is outstanding, that is data to process. They may be onto something you hadn’t considered.

This process begins with Cigar Aficionado, which employs a panel of cigar lovers to evaluate over 700 cigars, in multiple tastings, during the year. Their list is always insightful. We may not agree with all of the choices, but it’s usually a solid and sometimes astute list.

I believe they nailed it this year on the Top Two Cigars: 1, the Oliva V Melanio Figurado, a smooth, full-bodied cigar that we have been recommending since we first tried it;

Oliva V Melanioand 2, the fabulous E.P. Carrillo La Historia E-III, which struck me as the best new cigar at this year’s trade show in Las Vegas the first time I smoked it.

E.P. Carrillo La Historia

 

Also included among the Top 25 were Padron 50th Maduro, Ashton ESG 22 Year Salute (which brand owner Robert Levin calls “the velvet hammer,” since it begins  pretty mild and finishes with unexpected boldness), Montecristo Monte #2, Julius Caesar Robusto, My Father No. 2 Crema, San Cristobal Revelation Legend, and Liga Privado No. 9 Belicoso.

To review all of Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 Cigars of the Year, please see http://top25.cigaraficionado.com/

A brief word about sizes. The Top Cigars of the Year lists typically indicate a particular size for each cigar chosen. This is because this size, whatever it is, happens to be the one their panel evaluated. And then, when the prominent lists come out, those specific sizes tend to fly off the shelves. Moreover, because of increased demand, they are typically back ordered when we try and replace them. Don’t worry about that. What is important is that you try the cigars, in any size you like or is available. It’s the same filler, binder and wrapper. Don’t be deterred in your mission because the exact size isn’t on the shelf!

Love a good bargain? (Who doesn’t?) Cigar Aficionado also provides a list of it’s Best Buys or Bargain Cigars of the Year. http://top25.cigaraficionado.com/best-buys-of-2014/  This list includes some that appear almost every year and also some new ones, such as Oliva G, O and Connecticut, Brick House and Tatuaje Tattoo.

There are any number of Best Cigars of the Year lists, and you probably don’t want to get bogged down in all that. But some highlights from some of the others, which we find instructive, are these:

  • Cigar Journal No. 1 Cigar of the Year: New World from A.J. Fernandez, retailing at the remarkable price point of $5.75-6.50.
  • Other Top Choices by Cigar Journal include Oliva V Melanio (this year’s Cigar Aficionado No. 1 Cigar of the Year), Padron 1964, Flor de las Antillas (a former Cigar Aficionado No. 1 Cigar of the Year) and Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro.
  • Complete Cigar Journal list at https://www.facebook.com/CigarJournal
  • Hogshead Cigar Lounge’s Top Cigars of the Year include some familiar names including Liga Privada #9, Padron 80 Year Maduro, Oliva V Melanio and A.J. Fernandez New World. Also Liga Privada Undercrown, kind of an under-the-radar cigar we have been recommending for a while.

Speaking of Flor de las Antillas, amidst all the excitement of new lists coming out each year, it should not be forgotten that this much lauded cigar from a couple of years ago is just as great this year.

Flor de las Antilles Belicoso

Conclusion: For Heaven’s sake, try some of these cigars as soon as possible, in any size, in your continuing search for Cigar Excellence:  Oliva V Melanio, E.P. Carrillo La Historia, Flor de las Antillas, Liga Privada #9 and Undercrown, New World from A.J. Fernandez, My Father and San Cristobal Revelation. Or any of the choices listed in this post. Feel like a splurge? Pick up a Julius Caesar, Ashton ESG or any high end Padron.

And let us know what you think. Or, if you have found a treasure that has eluded the “experts,” we’d like to hear about that, too.

Cheers!

Mike, Nancy, Brad & Tony