One of Those Days

What's the best thing to do on a Friday afternoon? Well this Friday, I decided it wasn't work.  I had found a shop selling AR lowers for $100 and off I went to Lawguns in Indy, a new shop that opened this week.  I got there and met Anthony who was eager to take my business an after pleasantries, I started on my 4473.  While filling my form out, the phone constantly rang and another customer came in for uppers.  The shop isn't much right now, but it appears they'll be carrying mostly AR type stuff.  I picked up a couple of accessories for my AR and bid Anthony good day.

Off to Beech Grove Firearms!  I had heard great things about this shop and it is a very nice place with a lot of wheelguns and as good of stock of firearms and ammo as I think you can have right now.  The shop is clean, bright and friendly, the prices are a bit on the upper end of reasonable, but they have stock.

On the way home, I got to craving a cigar and so I stopped by the only good cigar store I know of on the South side of Indy, the Pipe Puffer.  It's probably a good thing I don't live in Greenwood as this place would see me a LOT more.  The Cigar selection is very good with pretty much all the major brands represented and a nice selection of each.  The cigars are kept in their walk-in humidor in perfect conditions, so you get a top-notch smoking experience.

The Puffer also has areas for customers to lounge while they enjoy a smoke, think a small tavern that serves smokes and not drinks.  I would have sat in one of the comfy looking leather chairs or sofas had the place not been absolutely packed with folks enjoying the afternoon with friends and tabacco.

All in all, it beat the living hell out of being in my office and one of my ARs is decked out and I've got parts for another complete AR.  Go me!

4th Of July

Happy b-day America, or what's left of it. I spent most of the day reloading ammo and I got a lot of it done, I would have done more if MCSports weren't closed and I coulda got more Clays. Reloading seemed fitting on the 4th for some reason.

A huge pizza for dinner at Mother Bears and a cigar (Carlos Torano 1916) with my pard Judge topped off a pretty good day.

Stogie Review

If you check out the Blog Roll you will see that Jose added the Stogie Review. Being the cigar fans we are we are always on the lookout for a good cigar. Thanks to the internet you don't have to walk into your local smoke shop and sound like an idiot asking for Havana Honeys.

There are a lot of cigar blogs out there, but many are spin offs of the various online retailers. I like Stogie Review because it seems to be the genuine article. A blog about cigars from guys who love cigars. Check 'em out.

How to light a cigar like a Pro

Here's another tip from Cheap Humidors.

I know lighting a cigar may not seem hard, but I receive many requests from people on how to do it correctly. So I figured this is the best place to share the knowledge.

First, you need the correct lighter. Some cigar buffs use cedar strips for the job, but I find these hard to carry around. Most people prefer to use matches or a butane lighter. When using matches, wooden ones are the best, not only because they look cool but also because they stay lit longer. If you opt for a lighter, make sure it uses butane fuel, because just about anything else that you could use to light the cigar will affect the cigar's taste. Regular fluid lighters have an odor that can be transferred to the cigar if the flame is allowed to touch the foot.

Take the cigar in your hand and light your flame source. Slowly rotate the cigar in your fingers as you lightly toast the tobacco on the foot of the cigar. Try not to let the flame touch the foot as you rotate the cigar in your fingers. Put the cigar in your mouth and continue to light as you rotate the cigar, gently puffing in every few seconds.When the cigar is lit, remove it from your mouth and look at the foot to make sure it is burning evenly. If it isn't, you can gently blow on the foot causing it to ignite the tobacco that is not burning, or you can apply a flame to that area. If you have an area that is burning faster than the other areas, simply wet your finger and apply under the quick burning area to slow it down.

10 Tips

Here are the Top 10 Cigar tips from Cheap Humidors

1. To make sure your cigar cutter stays sharp and clean, keep the wrapper on your cigar before cutting.

2. Placing your guillotine cutter flat on a table and placing the cigar straight up and cutting will ensure a clean, even cut every time.

3. When your cigars tastes too bitter, blow through it. You'll see a bluish smoke come out the lit end. Wait a few seconds, and you should get a nice, clean draw.

4. Lost your cutter and don't feel like biting the end off your $10 stick? If you're on the golf course, use the end of your tee to punch a small hole in your cigar. If you have a steel barrel pen, you can remove the top and use the bottom portion as a quick punch cutter.

5. To make sure your cigar is burning evenly, without canoeing, rotate the cigar after every few puffs. You can also blow slightly on the slow burning side to speed it up, and apply a little saliva with your finger tip to the faster burning side to slow it down.

6. Having a hard time drawing from your cigar? You can take a skewer or straight coat hanger and insert it into the cigar from one end to the other. You can also roll the cigar around in your fingers to loosen up the leaves.

7. Take your time when smoking. If you puff too quickly, your cigar will get too hot, and the taste will be altered. Try one puff every minute as a general rule of thumb.

8. Humidity in a humidor is not a science, despite what you hear. Don't concentrate so much on the ideal level. Instead, try to keep the level constant. Fluctuation can cause problems with leaves swelling and shrinking. Most people prefer to keep their humidors at the 65 percent range, which is a little drier.

9. Concerned that your humidor doesn't have a good seal? You can try the drop test or the dollar bill test. In the drop test, you drop the lid of your humidor from half open and listen. If it puffs when closing, you have a good seal. If it bangs, you're in trouble. You can also open the lid, insert a dollar bill half way in the humidor, and then close the lid. Tug slightly on the bill. If it gives resistance and is hard to remove, you have a good seal.

10. A cigar also needs to be judged by its wrapping. A perfect cigar is one that has an intact, undamaged wrapper. (If the wrapper is damaged, don't buy it.) The wrapper should also be consistent in color, and it should have a nice scent to it. If the wrapper is heavily "veined," this is another reason to reject a cigar. While feeling it, the cigar should be wrapped nicely--not too tight (very difficult to draw in) or too lose (loss of flavor).

Nicky Blaine's, Birthdays, and Padrons

Yesterday for my Birthday Jose and I went to my favorite little place called Nicky Blaine's Cocktail Lounge. It's in the center of Indianapolis right at the circle. You'll find this in the basement, fitting for an establishment that throws back to a speakeasy.

The bar is dark, and by that I mean dark leather furniture, dark wood work and dark lighting. What's not dark is red. When you walk in you are greeted by a hostess dressed as you would expect in a nice dark cocktail dress. She leads you to a table which is surrounded by wingback chairs or love seats, very comfortable. Then the whole night you are waited on by a true cocktail waitress. She pours your drinks and cuts and lights your cigar...that's right I said cigar. You see this place is a rarity nowadays. It's a martini and cigar bar. It offers some of the finest cigars and you are even allowed to smoke in the place...that just isn't allowed in Indiana anymore. Oh and I almost forgot, live Jazz.

So I treated myself to my favorite cigar a Davidoff Millenium Pyramid. It's was rated as a 93 from Cigar Aficionado and well deserved. The surprise of the night was the Padron 1926. I had read several very good things about the Padron 1926, but had never had the opportunity to try one. I saw it on the menu, but was scared by the "market price". I asked and while expensive it wasn't out of the world, so Jose and I each lite one up.

This was a full bodied cigar which I don't typically enjoy, but it was so flavorful and had such a mild finish for such a strong cigar that I quickly found myself falling in love with it. The Padron 1926 line was introduced to commemorate the 75th birthday of Jose O. Padron and also got a 93 from Cigar Aficionado. Only 16,000 of these are produced every year which explains the "market price" on the menu. I liked this one so much I think it will become my new Birthday Cigar! How fitting for a Padron designed for a birthday to be my new birthday cigar.