Monday, September 27, 2010

CRT/Habana Port Cigar Review #1 - Padron Series Churchill

Saludos,


Greetings, aficionado de la hoja! Our first CRT/Habana Port cigar review features a cigar from one of the pillars of the cigar industry - Padron. This Nicaraguan-based cigar company boasts a rich history and a core of family values. Of Cuban heritage, the Padron family regularly scores well on tastings and it shows due to their focus on consistency in their product.


Read below and see how our 2 CRT judges rate this Padron.




Date & Time Smoked: 9/21/2010 - 5:45 PM

Brand: Padron
Line: Series
Vitola: Churchill
Manufacturer: Padron
Distributor: Padron/Piloto
Length: 6 and 7/8 inches
Ring Gauge: 46
Common Shape: Churchill (Parejo)
Origin of Production: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Piloto Cubano)
Binder: Nicaragua (Piloto Cubano)
Filler: Nicaragua (Piloto Cubano)

Taste Profile (CRT#1764):
Initial Light - A touch of spiciness; smooths out right away.
1st Half - Burns even, good draw; some earth flavor.
2nd Half - More medium-strength; still burns even; good draw.
Final Comments - Fairly good smoke.
Strength: mild to medium

Taste Profile (CRT#1798)
Initial Light - pre-light draw evokes light earth notes; upon fire, a clean, light chocolate note.
1st Half - Wow! What a clean-tasting cigar; light chocolate and earth notes; not too spicy but rich; white-gray ash; gets more complex and smooth!
2nd Half - a bit more flavor but those chocolate tones still present; burns a bit hotter but due to fast speed of smoking; more earth develops.
Final Comments - not the most immaculate in terms of looks, although it smoked fine. The experience and flavor made up for it! What rich and clean flavors! This must have had some age on it. Absolutely worth a purchase.
Strength: mild to medium

Until the next post, siempre fumando,

Habana Port

Monday, September 20, 2010

CRT / Habana Port Cigar Reviews

Saludos,

Greetings, fellow philosophers of Habana Port! We wanted to inform you that we are joining Tobacconist University in what will be a great program that involves our in-house CRTs conducting formal tasting reviews of cigars!

Our goal will be to relay unbiased tasting reviews of cigars that are sent to us by Tobacconist University. This will be a great source for you aficionados that are looking for particular cigars that meet your preferences in strength, flavors and country of origin.

We have received the first shipment of cigars straight that we have been contracted to taste and review from TU . So be on the look out this week as we publish our first ratings and notes!

Until the next post, siempre fumando,
Habana Port

Another CRT in tha House!

Habana Port's newest CRT Diploma (CRT#1798)

Saludos,


Greetings faithful follower of Habana Port Cigar Merchants! We wanted to notify you that Luis Molina has received his CRT diploma (CRT # 1798). A serious cigar smoker and tobaccophile should only visit Certified Tobacco Retailers if he wants to have an enriching experience when browsing tobacconists. Otherwise, buyer beware! Click here to visit the official TU certification page.


Habana Port Cigar Merchants is now proud to offer 2 CRTs!




Until the next post, siempre fumando,

Habana Port

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Habana Port Live on Geoff Pinkus!

Saludos,

Greetings fellow followers of Habana Port. Just got off phone and was on live with Geoff Pinkus & Frank at www.geoffpinkus.com. Awesome radio/cigar smokers from Chicago. Looking forward to trying and bringing in his cigar, the Pinker, made by Gurkha.
We'll post a link to the podcast soon!

In the meantime listen to them talk about cigars, drinks, women and the good life on AM560 The WIND in Chicago or see them live at www.geoffpinkus.com every Sunday evening at 5PM Central Time.
Sweet, guys!
Until the next post, siempre fumando,
Habana Port

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Habana Port is on FourSquare

Saludos,

Greetings, friends of Habana Port. We want to announce of our presence on FourSquare.com. For those who aren't familiar with this social networking site, FourSquare allows the user (especially those with a cellphone) to check in at local businesses and announce to friends through Twitter and FaceBook of their check-ins. You can unlock badges and discover specials when you check-in at various spots near your mobile device.

Now, Habana Port Cigar Merchants is listed and you can earn exclusive specials when you check-in at our shop. Go to our FourSquare page and read our profile. You can also friend us on FourSquare and follow where we are going. Click here for our friend page. So go ahead and attempt to be Mayor of Habana Port by downloading FourSquare on your mobile. Explore your city and earn some exclusive specials from Habana Port. Happy check-ins!

Until the next post, siempre fumando,

Habana Port

Monday, September 6, 2010

Happy Labor Day from Habana Port!

Saludos,

Greetings, friends of Habana Port. We want to wish all the hard-working men and women of the United States a Happy Labor Day. We at Habana Port salute the labor force of this country and we know it is the motivated American laborer that makes this great country the best and most successful nation the world has ever known.

What better way to celebrate an American holiday with the most iconic American product - the handmade cigar. So come on in to Habana Port today and celebrate your success with a fine cigar (or pipe tobacco)! We will be open today until 5 PM.

Until then, enjoy this tidbit of the origins of this American holiday, brought to you by the United States Department of Labor.


Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means


Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.


Founder of Labor Day


More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.


Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."


But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.


The First Labor Day


The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.


In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.


Labor Day Legislation


Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From them developed the movement to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.


A Nationwide Holiday


The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.


The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.


The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.


Until the next post, siempre fumando,

Habana Port