Epicurious Journal

Hot-smoked Norwegian Mackerel

2012-06-10T16:09:00.000-06:00

I have been horribly remiss in the upkeep of this blog, so I'm hoping this will spur me on to devote a bit more attention here!

We'll start with something that has deep roots in my Scandinavian upbringing, that of smoked fish.
It's a long tradition in Denmark and certainly also in the rest of Scandinavia, to smoke fish. I ate it quite a bit when I was a kid, but really haven't done much with it over here in the states. Difficult for that matter to find anything other than salmon in US grocery stores.

So, you may be able to imagine my elation when I stumbled over fresh Norwegian mackerel at my local ethnic food market. Not only was this an opportunity for me to eat mackerel again after years of not having it, it was also a chance for me to finally try my hand at hot-smoking.

I kept it very simple. Marinated in a brine using a couple of different types of salt, pepper, thyme and dill, overnight, then rinsed, and patted dry. I then rubbed the inside of the fish with pepper and thyme, and stuffed a sprig of rosemary inside the cavity. More pepper and dill sprinkled on the outside. Very straight-forward, I think.
The grill was started, and once the coals were ready, I put the hot coals and some applewood chips -soaked in water- inside the off-set smokerbox. The fish went on the rack in the main grill chamber.

They smoked for about 3 hours at right about 200 degrees fahrenheit and they turned out very, very nice. The meat is moist and tender, practically melts in your mouth. The flavor is rich, smoky - but not harsh - and savory.
I can guarantee you that I will be doing this again. Perhaps next time I'll try some trout!

The two mackerel being prepped. I've always thought these were pretty. These two looked great. Nice deep colors, smooth skins.

On the grill. No coals are added in the main chamber, all the heat comes from the off-set smoker box. This could very easily be done in your typical Brinkmann smoker as well.

The finished fish. Note the change in color. The smell from this is amazing.

Dietary influence on "in-curable" diseases.

2012-01-23T20:53:00.001-07:00

Here's a bit of food for thought, if you will pardon the pun. It makes me wonder how many other diseases are either caused or exacerbated by, our diet. Other than the typical villains, like Type-2 diabetes.

An update of sorts...

2011-12-19T09:54:00.003-07:00

I have been severely neglecting this blog for a long time and that is something that I intend to remedy in the near future. This is what happens when you have a baby! Anyways, stay tuned for some long-overdue updates coming up in the following weeks. More food, more booze, more cigars!

Surf and Turf!

2011-01-24T08:17:00.001-07:00

We like lamb. I think it safe to say that we like lamb a lot. It is such a tasty meat and quite versatile in all its many forms, so we tend to use it quite often. We also like seafood. We like seafood a lot.
So why not combine it? Here's how we did that, just the other night.
Two lamb shoulder chops, brought to room temperature and seasoned with a variety of spices.
Fresh asparagus, coated in Greek EVOO and a bit of salt.
1 lbs of black mussels in a garlic butter and white wine sauce.

We cooked the lamb chops and the asparagus on our trusty grill. We only use 100% oak charcoal, as it imparts such a lovely flavor and burns much hotter than briquettes.
Total time actually on the grill, around 6-8 minutes. We like it rare/medium rare so the meat never really stays on the grill for long. The asparagus, of course, does not take long either, as we also like them to have a bit of a crunch. We served the asparagus with some freshly-made garlic and herb butter that my wonderful wife whipped up.

The mussels were wild, not farmed, something that is essential with all seafood in my opinion.
They were cooked until they opened in a covered pan, simmering in the sauce. The few that didn't open were discarded. Generally speaking, if they don't open, you really don't want to eat them!
The whole thing was served as you see it in the picture and I enjoyed it with a glass (or two) of Trader Joe's Vintage Ale 2010 (PDF), an absolutely fantastic beer that was just a lot of fun. This beer appears to be brewed by a brewer called Unibroue, a Canadian company. Whoever brews it, it is something I intend to pick up more of and cellar it for a nice evening on the patio. At about 5 bucks a bottle, it is well worth it.

All in all, this was a fantastic meal. Who says you can't eat healthy and enjoy it?

Interesting study on the use of a Paleo diet to treat diabetes.

2011-01-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is a study from Sweden that looked into treating Type 2 diabetes with diet, in this case comparing a typical Diabetes Diet with a Paleolithic-type diet. Their sample size could frankly have been bigger, but it's enough to get some statistical validity.

Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study

Yuletime eats

2010-12-25T11:54:00.001-07:00

This time of year there are many traditions. Most families have their own twist on things and since my own family is just getting started, I figured we should start our own traditions.

So, we came up with a bit of a feast! This is over-all pretty close to the Primal way of thinking, so while it's a bit of a cheat, it's not a terrible one.

On the menu was a ham from Niman Ranch, with a raw, local honey and pineapple glaze and cloves stuck into the skin.

To accompany this, we had mashed sweet potatoes with a bit of spices and butter. According to my wife, the amount of butter she used was approximately a "shit ton".

We baked up two bries, with an egg and almond crust. One was a Camembert and the other a goat brie.

With the bries, my wife made a raspberry reduction with a bit of local cranberry wine and a dash of merlot.

We also cut up a bunch of apples and some pear to eat the brie with.

The wonderful meal we had. I don't even want to think about how many calories this might have entailed, but hey, it's only once a year!

My wife's fantastic raspberry reduction. No, this is not a pan of bloody brains.

For dessert we chose something a little different for us and probably the biggest cheat of the evening.

Roasted chestnuts.

Now, I've had chestnuts before, when I was a kid. But I've never roasted them myself, so this was a bit of a learning experience.

It turned out pretty decent in the end, but it's a lot of work and I'm not sure I'd do it again! It is also quite a lot of carbs.

However, one thing that we definitely will do again, is the Gløgg.

What is that, you might be asking? Well, it's a traditional holiday thing from Denmark and other places in Europe. Typically, it's a fortified, mulled wine, which is served warm, with raisins and almond slivers in it.

There are dozens and dozens of different recipes out there, but we made it this year with the aforementioned local cranberry wine and some merlot. Put in the spices which were orange peel, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon and others. We decided against adding any sweeteners, unlike most of the traditional ways of making it and we also didn't fortify it. In the end, it really didn't need it and it made for a fantastic warm, cozy drink to snuggle up on the couch with.

It also helped clear my sinuses, since I've apparently managed to get a bit of a cold for the first time in a year.

I blame the massive amounts of dust and insulation that I was recently exposed to...

The chestnuts soaking in a brine bath. I cut an X into the flat side of the chestnuts first. They soaked for about an hour.

The finished chestnuts after about 20 minutes over a hot grill in a cast iron skillet.

The mug above the chestnuts is full of Gløgg and the picture does not do this warm, red marvel justice.

Organized confections?

2010-12-15T00:53:00.006-07:00

As I may have mentioned in the past here, I'm a big believer of supporting my local businesses.

While the internet has made it possible to get strange and wonderful things shipped to your home from all over the world, I am still amazed sometimes by the sheer variety of fantastic local products you can find almost everywhere you look.

One of these things, that very few people ever even consider to look for locally, is chocolate.

Chocolate does pretty much have to be grown in the tropics. So it can never be a fully local product, unless you just happen to live in South America or Africa; two of the largest producers of cacao beans on the planet. But, while the raw beans themselves are incredibly important to the final quality of the product, the preparation and care that goes into manufacturing said final product is at least as important.

Which brings us to the Chocolate Cartel.

A dark chocolate bar, topped with toffee and sea salt.

No, they're not a family of organized crime centered around the distribution of illegal chocolate products. As amusing as that thought may be.

Instead, it's a small company run by two brothers, Scott and Tim Van Rixel.

Originally started in Taos, New Mexico, back in 2001; their manufacturing facility and storefront is now located right by Highway 40 on Juan Tabo Boulevard here in Albuquerque.

A small, unassuming-looking place that is easy to miss, it is well worth the stop; hell, it is worth taking a detour for it, if you like chocolate.

Tim Van Rixel with some of their wares.

Despite what the sign says, this is actually part of where the chocolates are made. The sign is a relic of Scott Van Rixels' earlier ventures in the food industry. I found it amusing, mostly because it seems incredibly random to have that sign in a chocolate factory.

A small army of chocolates getting ready to be eaten. These had a coffee-cream filling, made with Kahlua liqueur. Great coffee flavor!

Me? I love chocolate. I mean, love it. It is by far one of my most favorite food vices. And all things considered, it is not even a particularly bad vice, given the high percentages of beneficial anti-oxidants that you find in high-quality, dark chocolate.

So, given my love of chocolate, I was pretty excited when I stumbled over the Chocolate Cartel.

The quality of both the ingredients and the care they take during the making of their confections is about as high as I've ever seen. And the results are fantastic.

Their signature product, if it can be said that they have one, is their truffles.

A few of the many different flavors offered.

The inside of the honey and pollen truffle. Yes, it was as delicious as it looks in the picture.

Made in a wide array of different flavors, they are made using one of the highest quality cacao beans in the world, the Venezuelan "El Rey" cacao. This dark chocolate base provides the foundations for the subtle flavors offered by the many different types of truffles that the Van Rixel Brothers make.

All of the truffles are hand-made, all of the ingredients are above reproach.

And they are one of many different kinds of chocolate that the Cartel produces. Everything from hot chocolate to flourless chocolate cake can be found at the Chocolate Cartel.

The display counter filled with all the various kinds of truffles and filled chocolates that they make at the Chocolate Cartel.

Some of the many other products that they offer.

Now, one thing that is, to my knowledge, unique about their chocolate is that almost all of them use a proprietary blend of spices. I'm not going to divulge what these spices are here, but they provide some added dimension to the flavor profile of all their chocolate.

The Cartel makes a 90% dark chocolate bar. I've tried other, high-percentage bars before, from other companies and in general, almost anything above 75% was just too bitter for me. This was not the case with the Chocolate Cartel 90% bar. Incredibly complex flavor that is, yes, bitter; but this bitterness never becomes overwhelming. This was a nice surprise for me as I was frankly a little apprehensive at first, given my experiences with other chocolates.

Note the 90% dark chocolate bar. If you end up visiting the Cartel, you have to give that one a shot! Their chocolate-covered almonds and chocolate-covered Espresso beans are also fantastic.

The aforementioned chocolate-covered almonds. These have a great crunch and blend of the two flavors.

A close-up of the previously shown toffee-and-sea salt-topped dark chocolate bar. This is one of my favorite flavor-combinations, one that is also known as Fleur-De-Sel.

To sum up, if you like chocolate even a little bit, and you find yourself in Albuquerque or even close to Albuquerque, you owe it to yourself to check out the Chocolate Cartel.
Not only are the products they make of the highest quality that I've experienced, the people that own the Chocolate Cartel are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about everything chocolate.
And even if you're able to stop by in person, the Van Rixel brothers sell their products via their website, so you can enjoy great chocolate pretty much anywhere in the world.
As a final selling point, the Cartel goes to great lengths to ensure that the raw materials they use are sustainably farmed, using organic and ethical practices whenever possible, which is more than can be said for a great deal of manufacturers in this day and age!
Go check them out!

The value of knowing where your food comes from.. And being willing to kill to eat.

2010-12-15T00:50:00.002-07:00

A good friend of mine wrote up an article about the way certain people these days are trying to disassociate themselves from the act of killing in order to eat.

It's a good read and it brings up some very pertinent points that more people really should take to heart.

Faceless Consumption

Thanksgiving dinner with a twist!

2010-11-26T13:05:00.004-07:00

My wife and I decided against getting a turkey for this Thanksgiving, largely because we'd never eat the whole thing! So, we decided on a duck instead. But not just any duck. No, this duck was going to be quite the little number. Crispy skin, stuffed with prunes, apples and cranberries.

First step, get a duck. Preferably pastured and organic. Even if you don't give a crap about the health aspect, they just plain taste better.
Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity and put them in your freezer to make duck stock. Please don't do what they say so often in other recipes and throw them out. You're wasting perfectly good food if you do!.
Pat the insides and outsides of the duck dry. Rub the duck inside and out with sea salt. Set aside.
Take an apple and cut it into cubes or wedges, we used a Gala apple, but it's really up to your personal taste. Get about a cup of prunes and cut them in quarters. Finally, get about half a cup of fresh cranberries or frozen ones and cut them in halves. Put all the fruit into a bowl and mix in about a quarter cup of orange juice. Let it soak for about 10 minutes or so. While it is soaking, take very sharp pointy knife and pierce the skin on the breast side of the duck, making certain that you do not pierce the flesh. Make about 20 small holes. if you pierce the flesh, you'll end up with dry duck!
Once the fruit has soaked up the orange juice, stuff the mix inside the duck. Make sure to stuff both the main and neck cavity. Put it in a pan on a roasting rack or otherwise elevated off the bottom of the pan, with the breast side down. Cook for 3 hours at 250 degrees, uncovered, in the middle of the oven.
At 3 hours, you will drain the drippings into a sauce pan, flip the duck over and put it back in the oven, for about 1 hour at 350 degrees. You can vary this time according to your preference for "doneness" or the size of the bird.

The duck before being flipped. You can see the stuffing in the main cavity.

Now, to begin the sauce.
Pour in, with the drippings, about an equal amount of orange juice. Get the mix to a slow simmer, while stirring frequently. This will need to simmer until the duck is done.
Once the duck is done, you will need to let it rest on the counter for about 1-15 minutes.
In this time throw a few cracks of pepper into your sauce, and add a tablespoon or two of any excess fruit stuffing you may have left over. Keep stirring until the 10-15 minutes are up.
Carve the duck according to your preference and serve with the sauce.

To accompany the duck, we served it with the fruit stuffing, a cranberry relish, made from chopped walnuts, oranges, fresh cranberries and orange zest. We also had a simple salad, basically your typical spring mix salad. And that was it. Really, you can serve it with most anything to your liking, but that was our Thanksgiving dinner and it was glorious!

Looks good, doesn't it?

This post is part of Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.

Grilled lamb leg steaks with herbed spaghetti squash

2010-11-26T12:45:00.005-07:00

This is a little something we cooked up here recently. Very simple meal. Take your average lamb leg steaks, season them to taste, in this case, we used fresh rosemary, pepper, pink Himalayan salt, garlic and a bit of thyme, and leave on the counter until they're roughly room temperature. Letting it reach room temperature before cooking the meat, lets you get a nicely done rare meat without it being cold in the middle. You also want to make sure that the meat isn't wet when you put it on the grill. Patting it dry before grilling or otherwise cooking, makes it brown more evenly.

While the lamb is reaching the right temperature, start the grill. We use, exclusively, oak charcoal, not briquettes. Not only does it burn hotter, but it provides a nice flavor and doesn't have any of the additives that you find in regular charcoal briquettes.

Take a spaghetti squash, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Fill the resulting cavity with at least two tablespoons of butter (real butter, not margarine, please), and the herbs of your choice. We used fresh basil, oregano, pepper, garlic and rosemary. Wrap the two halves individually in aluminum foil and put on the grill.

Leave on the grill for at half an hour. 40 minutes leaves it a little softer. All depends on your preference.

The lamb steaks go on the grill and get no more than 3-5 minutes per side. Lamb is frankly best if it is no more than medium rare. You want to use a pretty high heat to sear the surface of the meat closed to keep the juices inside.

Once the steaks are done, let them sit on the counter for about 3-5 minutes just to let them rest up a little and finish cooking, before you serve them with the spaghetti squash.

You'll scoop out the "noodles" from the inside of the squash, and serve them on the plate, similarly to the way you'd serve actual spaghetti noodles. You can even pour spaghetti sauce over them if you're so inclined. In this case, we didn't actually do that, but we did take some freshly ground Romano cheese and sprinkled it liberally over the squash.

That's it! Total prep time for this is maybe 15 minutes. Cooking time, about half an hour.

Breakfast!

2010-11-05T10:33:00.002-06:00

We've all heard how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While that may be open to discussion, I do find that having a great breakfast can really set the tone of the day to come. So, with that in mind, I should be off to a great start this morning.

So, on the menu this lovely, bright morning, is a two-egg omelet, with bacon, Wild Garlic Havarti and arugula.

I mixed up two free-range eggs with their amazingly orange yolks, with a bit of whole milk and various spices, including pepper, salt, home-grown oregano and dill.

Cooked it in the pan in coconut oil and when it was ready, folded in one and a half strips of bacon, two slices of the Havarti and several leaves of fresh arugula, and then cooked the whole thing until the omelet was just starting to brown.

I served it simply, with only a bit of Lusty Monk mustard, which is a local company, smeared on top. They make FANTASTIC mustards. Seriously. Try them.

Review - Rocky Patel "Patel Bros." Torpedo

2010-09-07T15:41:00.006-06:00

Almost two months ago, Matt from Monte's here in town floated me one of the new Patel Bros. cigars that they had just gotten in at the time and told me to review it. Amazed as always by his generosity, I decided that in order to give it a decent review I should let it rest for a bit in the humidor and that is exactly what it did.
This was likely a good thing as it did feel a little on the dry side when I first got it.

The band is pretty stylish and contrasts well with the dark, dark, Broadleaf wrapper.

The Patel Bros. line is the result of Rocky Patel working together with his brother, Nish Patel, to come up with a tobacco blend. After several years of working on it, they settled on what I'm going to take a look at today.
Coming wrapped in a true Pennsylvania broadleaf with a very dark-chocolate look to it, the Patel Bros. filler and binder is a special blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos that chunk out the wrapper nicely. The wrapper is decently oily, with a minor bit of tooth to it. Some veins were apparent but nothing that posed any issues. Overall feel was firm with no squishy spots. The vitola is a nicely sized 6.25X52.

Note the mild tooth and light veining. This is a pretty good looking wrapper, especially if it hadn't had that hole.

I've had minor construction quality issues with some of the previous Rocky Patel cigars that I've purchased and this is sadly not an exception. I discovered, shortly after getting it this torpedo from Matt, that there was a small hole near the head of the cigar. I couldn't rightly tell if this hole went through the binder, but it certainly went through the wrapper.
This hole did not appear to have been caused by tobacco beetles.

The hole that I spotted, near the head. No idea what caused this, but it did have a small piece of stiff leaf sticking out of it that I pulled out.

There was also a random bit of loose leaf that had been glued to the barrel of the cigar. When I removed it, I saw no imperfections underneath where it had been, so I can only assume it just got stuck on there by accident. Apart from those two issues, however, the construction did seem quite good.

Prior to lighting the Patel Bros., the aromas I got off the cigar consisted mostly of a sweet earthy and floral scent, with a bit of hay thrown in. The pre-light draw was firm, but open, and gave me strong notes of clean tobacco, overlaid with some light cedar and more of the hay.
Lighting the torpedo, unfortunately, proved to me that the hole I had seen did indeed go through to the filler. I had to cover it with a finger-tip in order to get a decent draw.
Somewhat annoying, but not a showstopper. The cigar smoked perfectly once I started covering the hole, producing prodigious clouds of velvety, grey-blue smoke.
Puffing on the Patel Bros. brought out strong notes of roasty coffee, clean tobacco and some leathery tannins, with a bit of spice on the finish.
The leather notes strengthened in the second third, as the coffee notes faded a little.
The burn was generally quite decent, with only some minor wavyness to it and it never needed corrections of any kind. Towards the last third, the spice started getting a little stronger and some sweeter, molasses notes appeared although they never got very strong.
The ash was firm, and pretty white overall, holding on for about 1.5 inches or so before letting go.

I pretty much nubbed the Patel Bros. It never got harsh or bitter towards the end, which is a definite plus in my book. It also smoked decently cool, right until the last bit which is largely why I gave up on it.

Overall, I found the Patel Bros. to be an enjoyable smoke. Quite smooth, decent in body, although not as interesting a smoke as some I've had. Comes across a little one-dimensional.
Not bad, all in all and worth giving a try. I can see this as being a good cigar for bumming around the yard or otherwise doing something where you don't have to really pay attention to the flavors.
I will add though, that it made my shop smell fantastic the next day!

Review - Xikar 009 Punch

2010-09-06T13:47:00.003-06:00

Xikar has been around for a few years and by virtue of the quality of their products and a remarkably inclusive warranty, their products have gained wide acceptance by a lot of cigar smokers.
Today, I'm going to talk about one of Xikars' cigar punches, the 009 series.
While I often will resort to using a regular guillotine cutter there are some times when a punch is just perfect. I've in the past used the regular cheap punches that typically only cost a couple of bucks, but I finally got tired of how poorly they cut despite my attempts to sharpen them, so I picked up one of these 009 punches.
The design is typical Xikar, with it's sleek, simple lines.
The finish is what Xikar calls "Gun Metal" and is a brushed, dark grey metal surface.
The 009 fits easily on a keyring, which is how I carry it.

The 009 on my keyring. This is after having been carried in my pocket for a few months, so you'll note that the finish has gotten a little scuffed up.

The action of the 009 deploys the blade, which is 9mm in diameter, by you pulling the two halves apart. Pushing them back together, snaps the blade back inside the punch and kicks out any loose tobacco that may have gotten stuck inside.

Here is the punch with the blade deployed. The gap in the middle actually aids in getting purchase on the relatively slick body of the punch. It is easily operable with one hand only.

The business end of the 009. Note the logo in the middle, chrome part, surrounded by the blade.

The blade is ridiculously sharp and makes for a very clean and easy cut. It's simply miles above the punch I had previously and that alone makes the purchase worth it.

A cigar that I cut with the 009. Note how clean the cut is. The word "surgical" comes to mind.

Overall, I'm very happy with the 009. The solidity and heft of the all-metal body makes for a pleasant using experience and the action is smooth and assertive in it's function.
And most importantly, the 009 cuts like a demon!
Combined with the unbeatable life-time warranty from Xikar which includes sharpening, and the reasonable 30 dollar price-tag, the 009 is a great little investment for anybody that is looking for a well-made punch.

Tobacconalia - An offshoot of Special Circumstances Inc.

2010-09-06T13:28:00.004-06:00

As may or may not have already been apparent, I do a fair deal of "crafts" on the side. For years I've been making knives and other items and because of this, I have a tendency to accumulate materials of various kinds, mostly because they look pretty or interesting.
Often, I acquire something with the intent of using it for a particular project, but some things end up languishing for years in my drawers, simply because I can't find a suitable use for it.
One such item was a hefty chunk of relatively rare Moroccan Thuya burl.
Only available from a particular area in Morocco and suffering some from over-harvesting, these burls are incredibly beautiful, but have become prohibitively expensive to a lot of folks in recent years. Thus, when I decided to make use of it, I wanted it to be for something special.
So, I decided to make a cigar ashtray. And yes, I do consider an ashtray to be something special.
When it's done right that is.
An ashtray often will have center place on a livingroom coffee table or some other conspicuous location, so in my opinion, it should be something pretty or otherwise noteworthy.
I think that I managed to achieve this.
At 5.75X5.5X2, this isn't a huge ashtray, but it's substantial in heft and feel. There is enough room for 3 cigars of decent size and the rests will easily handle almost any ring gauge, short of something ridiculous.
It also looks nice in my, thoroughly un-biased, opinion...

I plan on making more tobacconalia items in the future, so stay tuned.

CAO VR Review

2010-07-25T21:30:00.005-06:00

I've long been a fan of a number of the various CAO blends, but I'd never had the opportunity to try their VR. So when I recently received five of the CAO 'VR' Full Fathom Five vitola in a sampler from Cigars International I was a little excited. I managed to actually let these rest in the humidor for a good 4-5 weeks before digging into them.

The lighting makes the colors a little washed out. In person, the wrapper is significantly darker and richer in color.

Produced by CAO in the CAO Fabrica De Tabacos, in Danli, Honduras, the 'VR' has a Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro wrapper, with a Brazilian binder, surrounding Mexican and Nicaraguan long fillers.

The construction, like with most of the CAOs I've tried, appears impeccable. Coming in at 5.5X55 in a slight box press, the 'VR' has a nice weight and balance in the hand. The slight box-press makes the somewhat chunky size a little more mouth-friendly. The fill appeared uniform, although it did feel a little spongy. The wrapper though, while some people may find it a little rustic looking - what with its mottled appearance - I find it to be quite pretty. And by the gods does it have tooth! The Arapiraca is one of the most toothy wrappers I've ever seen! It did have some minor veining, but really nothing that was of any consequence. Oily and so dark-brown it's almost black, the wrapper is well applied to the binder and the cap appears very well-applied as well. The cap cut cleanly when I applied my trusty Xikar to it and the pre-light draw was nigh perfect. Firm, but even and with only a little effort required.

The quite well-applied cap.

The foot of the 'VR'. Note the slight box-press.

The Arapiraca wrapper. You can clearly see the prominent tooth.

The aromas of the 'VR' prior to lighting it were very interesting. Strong floral notes on a heavy foundation of spicy wood and nuts. The pre-light draw produced more of the same, along with some hints of leather and dark chocolate. I blame a lot of these "sweeter" notes on that Arapiraca wrapper!
The 'VR' lit easily and quickly produced a prodigious amount of smoke with each, easy, puff. Thick, almost pure white, the smoke brought with it, like a pale horse, a bounty of flavors. Toasted wood, espresso, peppery spice, but despite the spice, incredibly smooth. Exhaling the smoke through the nose brought out lots of caramel and pepper, with a nice bite but still this surprising smoothness.
The burn was exemplary, requiring no touch-ups and the ash was predominantly white and quite strong. The ash held for almost half the cigars length before letting go. And this is something I hadn't seen before. The tooth on the wrapper was so pronounced that it carried over into the ash! The ash was literally covered in little white nodules where the tooth had been on the wrapper. Very interesting.

I was amazed at how easily you could see the tooth in the ash here.

This was right before the ash finally let go. That's almost half-way through the cigar!

I just ran out of room with this puppy. While it was getting a little hot, it never got bitter or harsh.

I smoked the 'VR' until I ran out of room to put my fingers without burning them. It was really a fantastic smoke and I can't recommend these enough if you like really flavorful cigars. Well worth picking up a box or two!

Bacon-covered Salmon & Pan-fried Turnips

2010-07-22T14:22:00.003-06:00

We've been trying a lot of new things lately in our quest to add new and exciting things to our regular diet, especially when it comes to vegetables and other greens.
So when we stumbled over some Japanese white turnips at a local farmers market, we decided to give them a try.
Let's get into the "meat and potatoes" of this meal... That doesn't actually have any potatoes, but that's neither here nor there...

We prepped the salmon for cooking by placing it on a baking sheet that had been greased with a fantastic Jalapeno oil we purchased from Pastamore. The salmon was then seasoned with a variety of spices. The prime components we used were dill, green chile and garlic, along with a bit of cracked pepper. We drizzled a little bit more of the Jalapeno oil on top as well for a bit of added flavor. This oil is surprisingly subtle in flavor and adds only a little bit of slow heat to the flavor of whatever you drizzle it on.

We then took strips of thick-cut, sugar-cured bacon and covered the top of the salmon with them. Like so.

You bake it at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, then turn your oven on "Broil" until the bacon is as crispy as you might prefer it.

Moving on to the turnips, we'll get a little more involved.
Since we're cooking these with bacon bits, we'll start with the bacon. Chop it up into small pieces, then cook them only until they get nice and soft. The fat will turn a little transparent but you really don't want to overcook the bacon at this stage as it still needs to cook with the turnips.
Take your turnips, washed and sliced no thicker than .25 inches thick, throw them in the pan with the bacon. The fat from the bacon will provide all the fat you need, so don't worry about adding anything extra to the pan.
Brown the turnip slices on both sides, then add chopped up onions and garlic, tossing everything together. Cook the whole thing until the garlic has gotten a little brown and the onions are translucent.

Then you take the turnip greens that you trimmed off your turnips earlier, chop them coarsely and throw them into the pan along with some ground pepper, green chile and a dash of the Jalapeno oil if you feel like it. Stir everything, making sure to coat the turnip greens with fat and then cover and let cook until the greens are limp. Make sure you stir occasionally so nothing burns.
Serve this with the salmon and enjoy!

We ate this meal accompanied by an Amaro Winery Refosco from 2007, a fantastic wine, and oddly a red wine that is eminently suited for seafood.

Best "little" cigar shop in the South-West.

2010-07-18T21:33:00.006-06:00

I talk a pretty big game when it comes to shopping locally. I go out of my way to shop with local vendors, support local businesses and as much as humanly possible, avoid doing business with the big national chains. This isn't always an easy thing to do. Sometimes it almost seems as if a particular business isn't interested in doing business with you. You get the feeling that they're doing you a favor, and it's all really just such a bother. So, when you find a great, local place to shop, you should do your best to stick with this place. It really is worth it in the long run.

One such place here in Albuquerque, is Monte's Cigar Shop.
Monte's has been around in the Albuquerque area for several years now. Owned by Larry Monte Jr, Monte's has been in business since 1976 when it was opened by Larry Monte Sr.
Moving from its old location on Louisiana Blvd to a new and bigger location on San Mateo Blvd, Monte's now occupies almost 5000 square feet, 1300 of which are the humidor, the biggest one in New Mexico!

The view from the street of Monte's. This picture courtesy of Monte's.

Unlike some other shops in Albuquerque, who shall remain nameless, shopping at Monte's is always a pleasure. It didn't take long for the employees there to recognize me as a regular and you can tell, if you spend even a short amount of time in the shop that Monte's has a steady stream of regulars who are also quite obviously considered good friends. It's a great atmosphere, one that definitely serves as a great incentive to come back. Of course, the selection that Monte's offers, given the sheer size of their humidor, is substantial. Hundreds of brands, thousands of cigars, all at a very reasonable price. Monte's also carries a substantial selection of cigar accessories from major brands such as Xikar and Davidoff, amongst others. And pipe-smokers aren't left behind either. Dozens of different blends of pipe tobacco, along with probably a couple hundred different pipes are also available.
Monte's also hosts a variety of events and competitions on a fairly regular basis, often involving some of the biggest names in the cigar industry. These are typically announced on their website at Monte's Fine Cigars. Although, it's often a good idea to call or just stop by and ask what they have upcoming since the website isn't always updated, a situation Monte's is working to rectify.

The sales counter and a couple of the friendly staff. If you need anything, these guys will be happy to help you out.

The entrance to the huge humidor. This shot doesn't even get close to capturing how large the space is.

But wait, there's more! The Monte's building is also the home of the La Gloria Cubana Cigar club!
Providing a pleasant space with comfortable seating, state-of-the-art ventilation system, big-screen TVs and private rooms, La Gloria Cubana is a great, comfortable place to enjoy your favorite cigars. Humidor lockers and after-hours access to the store humidor are also available for members. The decor is warm and inviting with wooden floors and cushy leather furniture all around.

The main entry area. You can see the stairs for the downstairs area, and the handicap-access elevator that goes to the main lounge area.

The main lounge area. I didn't manage to get all of the available seating into this shot.

The down-stairs area. There's a couple of private rooms off this room as well.

The humidor lockers. Some of these have been signed by a few of the biggest names in cigars today.

All in all, Monte's is worth a visit if you're passing through Albuquerque and worth becoming a regular customer if you're a local. It's basically my favorite shop in town!

5 Vegas Relic Review

2010-07-13T10:40:00.006-06:00

This is my second 5 Vegas review but this time the cigar in question is a bit different. The 5 Vegas Relic is something quite unusual in the sense that it's a Dominican Puro, meaning that all of the tobaccos inside it come from the Dominican Republic. Available in only one vitola, a stout 5.7X54 perfecto, the Relic comes wrapped in a rustic-looking Corojo wrapper and is filled with a blend of Corojo and Criollo leaves, along with a single, 14 year old Piloto leaf, which supposedly smooths out the bite of the cigar some.

The Relic isn't what I'd refer to as a pretty cigar, but this seems very intentional given the overall presentation of the cigar itself, vis a vis the aged-bronze look of the band and the antiqued look of the box that the Relic is presented in. It's obviously meant to come across as if the Relic is a bit of an ancient beast of a cigar. In my opinion, this was a resounding success!

The well-applied triple cap. This cap cut cleanly and kept the wrapper in place.

The foot of the Relic. Despite how small it is, it provided enough air flow to keep the burn going.

The Corojo wrapper. While there were some fairly heavy veins, it never impaired the burn.
The wrapper is also very oily, to the point where Cigars International recommends dry-boxing it for a day or two before smoking. I didn't find that was necessary myself though.

Moving on to the pre-light experience, smelling the Relic gave me some rather interesting floral notes, rich, rich, earth and a hint of... Barnyard. Odd as that may seem to some, it's a rather pleasant smell.
The pre-light draw gave me a lot of leather along with some slight hints of sea salt on the lips, which was unexpected but pleasant. Being that this is a perfecto vitola, the pre-light draw was rather tight but not impossible.

Interestingly shaped ash, especially in the beginning. Smoke volume increased dramatically once I got past the first third.

Puffing on the Relic opened up a veritable cornucopia of flavors. Savory herbal notes, bitter chocolate, lots of spice and some leather that all developed throughout the burn. Towards the end, the leather receeded some only to be replaced with a toasted cedary spice.
Exhaling through the nose was almost unpleasant, just from the sheer amount of pepper my sinuses were blasted with, but I'd do it again! Interestingly, the smoke coming from the foot of the cigar had some distinct sweetness to it, almost a maple syrup/molasses quality that I couldn't quite put my finger on. The smoke started out thin and greyish-blue but gained in volume as the ring-size of the Relic increased towards the head.
While the flavors were great, the burn was not. The Relic required several corrections throughout the burn, but it held a phenomenal ash and never went out. It also never got harsh on me, and I had to stop only when it became too hot to hold comfortably.

The Relic really holds a fantastic ash. Without babying it, I still got through almost half the cigar before it ashed.

This is right after ashing for the first time. As you can see, that's almost half the cigar without ashing!

The Relic is also a rather punchy cigar; it literally made me sweat, which hasn't happened in a long time. And lastly, it's not a cigar you'll smoke on your lunch break. Total burn time was over two hours for me. So, the Relic is really a fantastic smoke that you will need several hours to fully enjoy. Don't rush it, and make sure you're sitting down!
I can highly recommend the Relic if you like strong, smooth cigars with lots of complexity to their flavor and you don't mind doing a little maintenance to the burn while smoking it.

Cabaiguan Guapo Limited Edition Review

2010-07-12T22:12:00.007-06:00

The Cabaiguan Guapo Limited Edition is a relatively new addition to the line of brands owned by Pete Johnson of Tatuaje fame. Named after the purported Cuban hometown of their master blender, Don Pepin Garcia and made entirely in the Tabacalera Cubana factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, this is a great addition to the Pete Johnson stable of brands.
The Guapo Limited Edition is pretty interesting from a number of perspectives and is distinguishable from the regular Cabaiguan by the silver trim on the band.
It also differs from the normal Cabaiguan by using an Equadorian-grown Connecticut Shade wrapper, that is sun-grown.
Yes, you heard me. It's a Connecticut Shade wrapper, grown in full sun. Ironic, yes?
Anyways, the filler and binder consists of the same Nicaraguan tobaccos used in the regular Cabaiguan and the one I purchased from my local B&M (Monte's) came in the Robustos Extra size which rings in at a healthy 5.25X50.
Not quite as beefy as a lot of the cigars I smoke and prefer, but still not a small or petite cigar.

My first impressions of the Guapo were pretty favorable. A nice, toothy wrapper, firm fill and overall quite decent construction coupled with the fantastic pre-light smell were what sold me on the Guapo in the first place.
The smell is really something else. Fine floral notes backed by a heady punch of rich earth.
It's a bit like taking a walk in a garden that's just been watered, the smells are that heady!
The pre-light draw was firm, but not too firm and brought with it more of that rich soil smell, along with pure notes of clean tobacco.

Lighting the Guapo produced voluminous clouds of greyish-white smoke with little effort and complex flavors to spare. Leather, bitter chocolate, pepper, and notes of toast all combined to bring me a great deal of enjoyment. Exhaling the smoke through the nose gave me quite a bit more toast along with a great deal of peppery bite.
There was some bitterness, but it was never unpleasant and I finished the Guapo with only a little of it left, mostly because it just got too hot to hold properly. One of these days I really should make myself a nub-holder! Smoke time was roughly 1 hour and the Guapo burned very evenly with no need for any corrections. The ash was firm, quite strong and I thought it looked very nice.

In closing, I can without a doubt say that I definitely enjoyed the Guapo. While some of the construction details looked a little rough, if you're a fan of the Tatuaje line, you should definitely try one of these if you can still find them! Especially given that only 50,000 of these were made.

Note the very toothy wrapper along with the minor imperfection in the wrap. This imperfection proved to be entirely cosmetic and posed no issues during the smoke.

The expertly applied cap. This cut beautifully and allowed for a nice, smooth, but firm draw. Again, check out that tooth on the wrapper!

Just look at all that tasty tobacco! Given how tightly these are rolled, it's a wonder you can get any smoke through them at all.

Nice, almost pure-white ash.

This ash held on for almost two inches. Pretty good for a relatively thin ring-gauge.

And this is where I left off with the Cabaiguan Guapo Limited Edition. As you can see, I was quickly running out of available real-estate!

Gurkha Master's Select Review

2010-07-06T00:13:00.008-06:00

I received this cigar as part of a sampler that I purchased about six months ago from Cigars International and it's been resting in my humidor ever since.

I'm honestly a little fuzzy on which exact cigar this is, but I believe it to be a Master's Select in the Sultan vitola (5.75X52), so that's what I'm going to go by for the remainder of this review.
If someone has a better idea of what it might be, then please let me know!

The Master's Select arrived from CI with a nice cedar wrap around the lower half and the classic, red, Gurkha band around the middle. The wrapper on the Master's Select is a deep brown Havana 2000 leaf, held together with a Dominican binder and the filler composed of ligeros from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras. All of the tobaccos involved are aged for an unknown time, but likely at least a few years. The wrapper had some veining but it was minor and proved to be of no consequence.
First impressions were quite favorable. The construction appeared to be quite good, with no soft spots in the filler, nor was there any excess glue or any other issues with the wrapper.

You can see a small flaw in the wrapper in the lower middle left of the picture. That was really the only place where the wrapper wasn't perfect. Nice bit of tooth to it as well, although not as pronounced as I've seen on some other cigars like the CAO La Traviata for instance.

The well-applied cap. It cut cleanly and I had no issues with the wrapper unraveling.

Ligero. Lots of it. Beauty!

The pre-light aroma was quite interesting with prominent floral notes and chocolatey, caramel-like hints on the finish. The pre-light draw gave me some leather notes with a bit more of the floral notes. The draw was quite firm, but not too much so.
Upon lighting the Master's Select, the first few puffs brought up a lot of interesting flavors over-laid by quite a bit of white pepper. Spicy, but not overpowering.
The smoke volume I managed to get was surprisingly small, despite the good draw, the smoke being thin and white.
The predominant flavor seemed to be leather with strong notes of espresso and cedar with the white pepper coming in at the end. Retrohaling the smoke brought out more of the pepper with a bit of bite and more of the chocolate and floral notes. Getting to about the halfway point there was a fairly substantial change in the amount of smoke I was getting and the flavors changed at the same time, bringing in some sweet and savory herbal notes.

The ash was kinda loose, only holding on for a little over an inch at a time. Good color though and the burn was otherwise quite nice.

Very interesting experience! I ended up nubbing the Master's Select after almost 2 hours, with no harshness or bitterness. The burn throughout was great and I only did 2, very minor, touch-ups. A very pleasant smoke and probably in the top 5 of my favorite Gurkha cigars so far.
I would definitely smoke one of these again and it's made me really interested in giving one of the Perfecto vitolas a try, especially given my predilection for big ring gauges.
Highly recommended!

More dessert explorations.

2010-07-05T01:38:00.003-06:00

Every now and then, it's perfectly alright to spoil yourself rotten.
My wife, Rachael, and I had a hankering for something special the other day and Rachael decided that she wanted to make chocolate-dipped strawberries.
I was, of course, entirely in favor of this as you can well imagine!

Now, I'm sure you've all seen the ones you can buy at various chocolate stores and such, and you've probably cringed a bit at the price most of these fine establishments charge for this little indulgence. You'll be happily surprised to know that it's in reality quite economical to make them yourself. You can also control your ingredients this way, and it's almost guaranteed that you'll get a better result than the store-bought ones, simply because you can use better ingredients.
Using a high-quality dark chocolate not only lessens the sugar impact but also contrasts beautifully with the sweet tang of the strawberries.
It's not Primal/Paleo as such, but it's better than the vast majority of desserts that are commercially available!
Now, there's a trick to making good chocolate-dipped fruit and that is tempering your chocolate properly.
I'm not going to go into excruciating detail about this, instead I'm going to give you a link that has all the information you'll need to do a great job at this yourself.
I found some easy to follow instructions in the following places:
Cooking For Engineers
Ghirardelli
Now, with the information in those two links (Rachael followed the first one) you too can do amazingly tasty chocolate-dipped fruits!

Here's how Rachael's came out.

Beautiful, ain't they? They tasted bloody amazing too!
The snap of the chocolate shell, followed immediately by the burst of strawberry flavor was just amazing and they not only hit my spot, but I'm pretty sure they took it out back, beat the living daylights out of it and left it for dead...
You shouldn't make these every day, but for an occasional treat, there's pretty much nothing wrong with these. Lots of anti-oxidants and remarkably little sugar if you choose the right chocolate for your shell. Try it! What fruits can you think of that would be great dipped in chocolate?

Drew Estate Natural Dirt Torpedo Review

2010-07-05T01:04:00.004-06:00

Drew Estate Cigars, while known primarily for their flavor-infused stogies available in a bewildering variety of flavors, have in more recent years been releasing a steady flow of non-flavored cigars in a variety of different lines. The one I'll be looking at today is from the Natural line, a series that focuses on non-flavored tobaccos from unusual locations. What that means is that Drew Estate uses tobacco that was grown in exotic locales like Syria, Turkey, St. James Parish, Italy, and a number of other places.
The Natural line comes in a variety of sizes, all of which have their own blend of tobaccos.
Today, it's the Dirt Torpedo that will go under the proverbial microscope.
At 5X52, the Dirt Torpedo is a comfortably-sized little number that comes cloaked in a chocolate-brown Brazilian Maduro wrapper, with a Nicaraguan binder and the filler a multi-country blend from 12 countries!

The Dirt Torpedo is a quite pretty little cigar, despite the somewhat drab name. The Dirt comes with two bands, one wrapped around the foot of the cigar. The design is somewhat understated but does make me think about the kinds of artwork often associated with marijuana... Yes... Well, I'm going to assume that the Dirt isn't quite that dirty!
Construction quality on the one that I picked up was excellent with no soft spots or flaws in the wrapper. The color of the Brazilian Maduro is amazingly deep and the wrapper was nice and toothy, with only a little oil present.

I really enjoyed the feel and look of the wrapper on the Dirt. Not quite as oily as some, but it felt and smelled great!

As you can see, while there's some veining, the wrapper is really quite nicely done.
The pre-light smell and cold draw is redolent with rich, earthy tobacco, chocolate and some interesting floral notes.
I was somewhat shocked to discover upon putting the Dirt in my mouth that the cap is sweetened and pretty aggressively so.
It wasn't to the point of inducing gagging or anything so severe, but it was surprising and I would personally prefer it if the cap was unsweetened.
While I generally don't mind that on the infused cigars from Drew Estate, I feel it detracts from the flavor of the tobacco used in the Dirt.
Lighting the Dirt Torpedo brought immediate, huge, clouds of thick, grey smoke and a blast of pepper with a tiny bit of leather on the finish.
The draw was almost ridiculously perfect, each puff resulting in yet another huge cloud of aromatic smoke. Retrohaling through the nose was incredibly surprising. The pepper that was so prevalent in the mouth almost completely disappeared through the nose, supplanted by smooth, creamy, chocolate with a hint of the floral notes that I'd noticed pre-light. Throughout the burn, the Dirt Torpedo remained quite pleasant, with the up-front pepper supplemented by subtle notes of wood, spices, chocolate and a tiny bit of leather creeping in towards the last third.
The ash was also quite nice, a testament to the great construction, and it held the line for a solid two inches before I ashed it. Very nice salt-and-pepper grey.

This ash would have been perfect if I hadn't dropped the Dirt nose-first into the ashtray when I misjudged the balance point. Despite this, the ash held on beautifully!

I ended up with right under an inch and a half worth of nub before I gave up on the Dirt Torpedo. The smoke was at that point getting uncomfortably hot. Although, at no point did I detect any harshness or bitterness. The Dirt was a pleasure to smoke throughout the whole burn. It may not be the most complex cigar ever made, but it was flavorful, tasty and well-built. The burn stayed good throughout the cigar and needed no corrections, which is always a good thing.

I'm coming to the determination that I need to make a nub holder one of these days.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the Dirt Torpedo. I'm definitely going to be picking up some more of these in the future. Recommended!

Gurkha Triple Ligero Special Edition 2002 Review

2010-06-23T23:24:00.007-06:00

Today we're going to take a look at the Gurkha Triple Ligero in the Sultan vitola, which comes in at 5.75X52.
The Triple Ligero is a re-make of the original K. Hansotia Triple Ligero X3.
I received this cigar in a sampler I purchased from Cigars International about 5 months back and it's been resting in my humidor since then.

The band is typical Gurkha fare, and looks rather stylish.
The cigar itself has a cedar-wrapper below the band with a black fabric band around the foot.
Very nice packaging.

Note the cedar wrapper and the nice-looking fabric band at the foot. Stylish, eh?

Very classy secondary band. This is apparently a Special Edition release.

The Triple Ligero comes wrapped in a pretty nice looking Brazilian Maduro wrapper.
Slight tooth and some minor veining, but overall a quite nice-looking wrapper, granted it's not as dark as some Maduros I've seen that are almost black!

Pretty decent wrapper, eh? The construction really did look quite nice at first glance.

Both the binder and filler is made from aged ligero, which should make for an interesting, if strong taste experience.
I've had good luck with other straight ligero cigars before, notably the Cain series which I rather like so this should be pretty interesting.

After removing the cedar wrap, the pre-light smell was rather nice.
Strong notes of leather with chocolate and the slightest hint of a sweet spiciness, along with pure notes of clean tobacco.

The construction overall seemed pretty nice, with no tears or soft spots. Although, when I cut the cap, I discovered a small cavity underneath it and had to re-cut to fix this.

The cap. It looks quite well-applied, but there was a pretty large cavity underneath it.

The pre-light draw boded well for this cigar, as it was firm but open. The same notes that were presented just by smelling the cigar were amplified in the pre-light draw.

After lighting the Triple Ligero, I was immediately presented with prodigious amounts of smoke.
Leather, toasted wood and some pretty nice Espresso lingering on the finish.

The ash could have been better, somewhat surprising given the rather firm feel of the cigar and the decent draw. It held on for about 1.5 inches before it let go the first time. Not bad, but not fantastic either.

A decent-looking ash, if a little loose and rough around the edges.
Color is nice though.

The burn was also not fantastic. As a matter of fact, the Triple Ligero required corrections to the burn be administered a total of 5 times during the roughly hour and a half of burn-time.
It never required a re-light, but the uneven burn was somewhat annoying.
As the cigar progressed into the second half, the leather from before remained, now supplemented with some notes of charcoal and still a slight sweetness.
The Triple Ligero is somewhat of a dry smoke and I think it would go well with something like a fruity Hefeweisen.
Towards the last third, it acquired some bitter notes and exhaling through the nose produced a lot of spice! I mean, holy hell! Felt a bit like I might as well have exhaled straight pepper dust!
It was rather bracing, actually!

In the last two inches, the Triple Ligero did start to get somewhat bitter and a little harsh. Nothing major, but I got tired of it with about 1.75 inches left.

This is where I left off with the Triple Ligero. What can I say, I just got kinda bored with it.

Overall, I'm not terribly impressed with the Triple Ligero.
I frankly thought it would be better, given my past experiences with ligero cigars.
It's not a bad cigar by any stretch and I'm sure many people would greatly enjoy it but the experience for me was rather lackluster.
I was also expecting the nicotine to hit me a little harder than it actually did.
Not too long ago, I had a Gurkha Regent and that thing about put me on my ass, the nicotine was so strong.
Not so with the Triple Ligero!
That being said, it might be worth trying this one out if you can get it in a sampler, like I did, or perhaps trade your way to one, just to try it.
You might think it's fantastic, but personally, I'll be looking elsewhere next time.

Joya De Nicaragua Antano 1970 Review

2010-06-16T23:31:00.000-06:00

Joya De Nicaragua has an interesting history behind them.
Tobacos Puros de Nicaragua S.A. was the first cigar factory established in what is now the heart of cigar manufacturing in Nicaragua, the fabled Esteli Valley, which consistently produces some of the best tobacco in South America.
It almost went under entirely under the Sandinistas, but has returned to prominence with the help in recent years of Drew Estates, who are now distributing the brand.

The cigar we'll be looking at today is the Antano 1970, their top power-house blend, in the Gran Consul size, which is a monstrous 4.75X60!
I have a real predilection for the bigger ring-gauges and this puppy fits that bill to a T.

I guess this shape could be referred to as a torpedo of sorts.
The construction is decent with a few rough-looking edges. While it feels a little spongy, the draw was surprisingly firm, almost too much so, making it a little difficult to get a nice, big mouthful of smoke.
The color of the Nicaraguan Habano Criollo wrapper is quite beautiful, a deep reddish-brown.
Some veins are present, but nothing that seemed to affect the burn.
The feel of the wrapper is very leathery, with some decent oils to it, but not as oily as some I've seen.
Both filler and binder are also made with Nicaraguan Habano, which would make this a true Puro.

The pre-light smell is pretty nice, if subtle. A sweet, earthy smell, reminiscent of summer hay.
The pre-light draw provides more of this sweet earthiness along with some very subtle notes of chocolate. I did have to adjust the cut a few times, just to get an easier draw.

Lighting the Antano produces a bevy of flavors.
Strong espresso, leather and spices.
The smoke is quite smooth and given what I'd heard about how strong the Antano is supposed to be, the smoothness was surprising.
There's quite a bit of pepper on the front of the palate, but it's never harsh.
About an inch or so in, you start getting quite a bit of toasted wood.

The ash is pretty nice looking, holding firm for a little over an inch before first falling. That seemed a little loose, especially given the big ring gauge, but it's not bad.

Bit of a jagged burn. I really had to puff on this one to get a nice mouthful of smoke. Very tight draw.

The Antano lasted me almost an hour and a half. This is a seriously long-burning cigar.
While I didn't have any major burn issues, I did have to correct the burn twice.
This could have been caused by the very firm draw, so that's kinda hard to tell.

I had about an inch left by the time I put this down. Mostly because I ran out of time. The smoke was getting a little hot by this time, but was still tasty. No harshness at all.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the Antano. I'd definitely be interested in trying more of these at a later date, as the flavors were all quite enjoyable. For a cigar that has a reputation for being an ass-kicker this cigar is amazingly smooth and very full of flavor. Not really subtle or terribly nuanced, but up-front and honest about it's flavor profile.
I didn't find it to be quite as belligerent with it's strength as some people have indicated. It's smooth, and full-bodied, but not the nicotine nuke that I've heard it described as.
If you like full-bodied cigars, this is definitely one to give a shot!

Thresher Shark Fillets With Mussels

2010-06-14T19:27:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd share one of my recent dinner adventures with my readers ( Yeah, you. No, not you, the guy in the shirt! Yeah, you! Do you like tacos?) so here's a quick breakdown of how to make a fantastic meal that is not only good for you (low carb!) but also tastes great!

Get some shark, swordfish or tuna fillets at your local fish monger.

At the same time, get a couple of lemons, some fresh herbs, assuming you're not growing your own (why aren't you? It's easy!) and a pound of mussels. Oh and some fresh Broccolini!

Thresher Shark fillets, skinless and ready to go in the dish. Cupcake Chardonnay at top along side the organic butter. Yes, this is healthy. If you don't believe me, look up Paleo or Primal eating.

Melt 1/3rd of a cup of butter in a sauce pan. Chop up and throw in herbs of your liking. In our case, we used fresh dill, herbs de provence, basil and lots and lots of purple garlic along with half an onion and some cracked pepper corns.

Once the butter is melted with the herbs in it, turn off the heat and let sit for about an hour to let the flavors develop.

This smelled amazing while cooking. Letting it sit for about an hour really lets the flavors develop.

While that's sitting, get a shallow ovenpan or dish ( we used a pyrex pan, mostly since it doesn't convey any metallic flavors like a steel pan might.), put in a tablespoon of a nice white wine (chardonnay in our case) and a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Put in your two filets, turning them over once in, so both sides get a nice coating.

Toss in a couple of lemon wedges for fun and flavor and pour the herbed butter over the fish, before putting it in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes, putting it on broil for a few minutes on top of that, to get the sauce bubbling a bit.

Pre-oven.

What it should look like after it's been in the oven. The smell when you open the oven to check on it may make you drool. Wearing a bib might be an idea.

Steam the broccolini and season to taste. Serve them with a few lumps of butter on top for flavor.

While you're cooking the fish and such, you should also have your mussels steaming under lid. We got some pre-cooked ones from our local grocers, so only cooked them for about 10 minutes. If they're fresh, they need to get about 15 minutes or until they open. If they don't open, don't eat them! Seriously, you'll regret it.

We steamed the mussels in half a cup of the chardonnay, about a tablespoon of lemon juice, a tablespoon of butter, fresh dill, basil, lots of garlic and two diced tomatoes for a bit o' color.

Serve the mussels in their own liquid. You may be tempted to drink the liquid like a soup and that's ok. I won't tell anybody...

Until you make this, you will not believe the aromas that arise from this. Unbelievable!

Serve with a nice glass of white wine, in this case, we used the same chardonnay that we used for the cooking, the Cupcake Chardonnay, which is a nice and buttery chardonnay without too much oak.
This is a fantastic meal and it's relatively easy to make. It's also quite healthy for you, with the healthy fats from the fish, the antioxidants and vitamins from the broccolini and herbs. You really should try this and if you do, I'd love to hear what personal twists and additions you may come up with!

The finished meal. Taaasty!