August 21st, 2017

Odd as it may sound, my non-smoking wife discovers the best cigar lounges! She won't give away her secrets. But I can and will share with you some places she found on our recent trip to Nashville.

We traveled to Nashville because my youngest son had gone there while chasing a girl he ultimately caught, but didn't keep. Beside the point. The wife loves country music, and was excited to ‘stroll Broadway and listen to music’. Me, not so much. However, we've been married going on seventeen years, and she knows how to get her way. Give me a cigar and a couple of drinks, and I'll follow her anywhere!

July 10th, 2017

Prague is as cool and full of Old World mystique as you have ever seen in movies. It’s the capital of the Czech Republic, and is a popular tourist destination every summer. While women might gush with excitement over shoes and purses, I found myself gushing over an insanely cool cigar lounge, several levels below the street, in a dungeon. Yeah, a freakin’ dungeon!

The Hotel U Prince lies 75 feet away from the major tourista magnet of the 600 year old Astronomical Clock (yawn). Down in the hotel’s basement (as in down four flights of stairs, into the bowels and foundations, constructed centuries ago with big arches) is Black Angel’s Bar.

The mood inside is like jumping into some kind of spy novel, where arch villains lurk in the dark recesses of exotic chambers. And you get to smoke here!!! How cool is that? Black Angel’s Bar could well be the world’s most interesting haunt for cocktails and cigars.

July 3rd, 2017

When my wife and I rented a house in the Hollywood Hills for a week, I had already resigned myself to it being a stogie-free stay. After all, we were in Los Angeles. Imagine my surprise when, in fact, I was able to find a number of places to light up.

May 15th, 2017

10 days, 2900 driving miles, over 300 cigars acquired and 60-plus smoked along the way.

I always say that cigar people are nicest people you'll ever meet. And on this trip, we were fortunate enough to spend time with some really exceptional ones. We made new friends, met up with old ones and visited some very nice locations for buying and enjoying cigars.

My lovely wife, AKA ‘Lady A’, was my companion the whole way, and she helped me tweet photos of the cigars that I smoked as well as photos of some of the great places we visited. We also managed to play 25 games of pinochle with Aunt Virginia and Uncle Bob in Lakeland (when we got to Florida) – all around, a very productive exercise. However, the girls beat the boys in the tie breaking game 13-12.

May 8th, 2017

I've been blessed by the generosity of Jonathan Drew a few times. Anyone who's met him knows how welcoming he is. He’s an instant friend. His ability to create blends is truly a unique gift. Jonathan also has a knack for bringing just the right people into the Drew Estate family. And ‘family’ is just what the Drew Estate enterprise is.

Those who work on staff in the U.S. are full of personality. Each is a superstar in his or her own right. Many I consider friends. A few I consider brothers.