Anyway, here’s my audio Wine Soiree review.

Enjoy!

First, some links:

Here’s a link to the paper from the Weber Shandwick Web site.

Here’s a brief description of the paper I wrote for Weber Shandwick’s Social Studies Blog.

Lifestreaming: The White Paper (Weber Shandwick)

Well, the decision is tomorrow, and I suppose we’ll see what happens. If Chicago is picked, I may be inspired to start documenting my thoughts on the bid and the process.

Also, I must say I’m impressed with Billy Dec’s work in compiling celebrity interviews about the Chicago 2016 bid. Give that man a medal. Or a burger.

Gurkha Micro Batch Liga VH-7

Brand: Gurkha Cigars
Line: Micro Batch
Vitola: Liga VH-7 (Toro; 6 x 50)
Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Jamastran Habano
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Nicaraguan, Honduran, Dominican
Body: Medium-to-full
Strength: Medium

Cigar stores are a great place to hang out and pick up a stick or two, but when you’re buying in bulk, it’s difficult to resist the allure — and the price — of internet retailers. They’ll get great deals many brick-and-mortar shops just don’t.

When I saw a freebie deal on Cigars International for the Micro Batch sticks, I decided to take a shot with the Gurkha Micro Batch Liga VH-7.

The VH-7 is a box-pressed cigar, and is made with a slightly veiny — but mostly smooth — Jamastran Habano wrapper from 2003. According to the site, only 45,000 of these cigars were made.

I typically switch between cutters and punches, depending on the cigar’s vitola and my mood, but I used a punch for this particular stick and I got a great pre-light draw that was extraordinarily leathery.

Once lit, the cigar was earthy and leathery, and its Habano wrapper was quite tangy and tasty. The sweet, caramel taste of my drink, a Bass Pale Ale, brought out the flavors of the stick.

The cigar was maintained properly in my humidor, but I noticed that about a third of the way in, it started canoeing a bit up one side. This evened out after about an inch, though. Otherwise, the Liga VH-7’s burn was even and the burn line was thin.

As the cigar progressed, it got more even more leathery, a hint of nuts, which I enjoyed at first, but then it only got more leathery from there.

Verdict: I found the Gurkha Micro Batch Liga VH-7 too one-dimensional. There was too much leather, which overpowered everything else: the nuts, the earthiness — everything. It tastes good, and there’s some heft to it, mbut if you’re looking for something more complex, you may want to look elsewhere.

(NOTE: This review was originally posted on CigarJack.)

It’s good to feel like a big macher every once in a while.

When you spend a little extra money on the finer things in life — a fine scotch, a Swiss watch, a luxury car — and you get a great deal, it’s a wonderful feeling. An investment in quality is generally a smart one because you’ll experience that quality, presumably, for a long time to come.

The Louixs ultra-premium cigar — made in Nicaragua for Goldwin, the house cigar of the Beverly Hills Cigar Club — is just built for decadence. There are two reasons why:

1. It’s a 6-inch, 60-ring-gauge smoke. (That measures to about an inch in diameter.) The stick is pretty damn big. George Carlin would have a field day with it.
2. It costs 50 bucks.

The Stats

It’s a magnificent-looking cigar, that’s for sure, with a flawless reddish Rosado wrapper leaf from Nicaragua. The cigar band, which features a portrait of Louis XIV, the famous 17th-century “Sun King” of France, makes it look even more stately.

The Goldwin Web site claims the Louixs is the most expensive cigar ever created. At $50, it’s a hell of an expensive stick. Goldwin’s claim, however, is incorrect. The original Gurkha Black Dragon limited-edition cigar debuted at a whopping $1,150 per stick.

But it’s clear Goldwin isn’t selling these sticks to veteran cigar smokers. They say, “Louixs are special because every part of the manufacturing process is managed by master tobacconists who understand this cigar is the very best: native Cuban torcedores (rollers) handleaf each one; native Cuban catadores (taste testers) check every batch; veteran revisadores (inspectors) monitor every aspect of the production.”

Last time I checked, this is basically the case with every other cigar factory. The good ones, at least.

The Taste

Anyway, back to the cigar. Since it has such a big ring gauge, using a cutter may give you too much smoke on the draw, if you’re not a cigar vet. I used a double punch, and got a great, even draw the whole way through.

The pre-light flavor had hints of cocoa and a touch of spice on the finish, but the stick wasn’t anywhere near overpowering. As I smoked through the cigar — it took about an hour-and-a-half to smoke — I noticed it didn’t really get any more complex, as the cocoa and spice persisted until about halfway in, when the cigar got a touch earthy. But that was it; the Louixs hit a flavor plateau early on, and it never extended past that. While it tasted good, I was disappointed by its lack of complexity.

Was the Louixs tasty? Sure. Could you get a better-tasting cigar for $10? Absolutely. You’ll also have some money left over to buy that scotch.

I originally wrote this review for Asylum.

I started last week as a digital communications supervisor at Weber Shandwick. My time at Tribune Company was great, but I like a new challenge. I look forward to learning the ropes of the agency world!

Here’s the official announcement from Weber Shandwick.

Here’s a video of the panel livestream. Enjoy:

You can find some photos here.