BOLIVAR GIGANTES, HABANA

Now after my favorite "cheap" cigar I'll discuss my favorite Cuban.


  This would be the Bolivar Gigante (maybe). Maybe? Well it's like this; here I am in SF where Cuban Cigars are illegal and I run into a guy whose whole family is still in Cuba making cigars at Partagas (and sending them back to him in the States, somehow). Oh, they're real enough but sometimes my friend gets Habana "seconds" pawned off on him from the relatives now and again (who get a couple of boxes a month gratis but sometimes they just get to keep their mistakes).       Which brings me to how I wound up with a box of 25 Bolivar Gigantes  7 x 47 that were the size of Ramon Allones Gigantes 7. 5/8 x 49 !  Both are made at Partagas   ( FPG, Francisco Perez German) where most of my friend's family worked. Definitely Bolivar's but Allones' size (the Bolivar labels on the box were, for that matter, just a little small for the boxes size). 
  Any road, of all the Cubans I've ever smoked I liked this one the best! I only got one box and have pined away ever since for more. 

  A big, full, flavorful smoke that last a good hour and a half (even with me 'hot-boxing' it, as usual). My all time favorite, hands down.  

MY PICK FOR THE BEST TWO BUCK CIGAR

The Calle Ocho Presidente. 8x52 (bundle of 20) $42.99

  This monster is made by Oliva (apparently only for Cigars International) and has a great deal going for it. 
  Well made, (no runs), long smoke, tasty, a goodly amount of smoke, and a damn cheap price. Unlike the Flor de Oliva this one does not need to rest a month or so in the humidor to tame it. It's ready right from the git go. All Nicaraguan tobacco with a Sumatra wrapper.  
  Downside; not a lot. It does get 'sharp' in the last inch (yes I always smoke them to the nub!) and they contain a lot of nicotine (not as much as a La Gloria but enough to make you woozy by the last quarter if you puff 'em down as hard as I do). 

  Definitely try them! 

The Po' Boy's Cigar Blog

"Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man's enjoyment of his cigar". Mark Twain

Now I've decided that, along with politics, I'd add my opinions on various cigars that I've smoked. Once upon a time, in Old San Francisco, I smoked hundreds (no shit, hundreds) of Cuban cigars.  Alas now I've fallen on hard times and have to scrape along on 'cheapies'. Never the Less, I'll in devour to persevere and rate the cigars I can afford as best I can. Now Twain did humor, social criticism, and politics but he didn't (as far as I know) rate his cigars. So, not being his equal in these other areas I'll tackle cigar rating, knowing that ole' Sam Clemens would approve.   

Robert Reich: Patriotism July 4, 2012

Robert Reich: Patriotism July 4, 2012: "When arguing against paying their fair share of taxes, some wealthy Americans claim "it's my money." They forget it's their nation, too. And unless they pay their fair share of taxes, Americans can't meet the basic needs of our people. True patriotism means paying for America.

So when you hear people talk about patriotism, be warned. They may mean securing the nation's borders, not securing our society. Within those borders, each of us is on our own. These people don't want a government that actively works for all our citizens.

Yet true patriotism isn't mainly about excluding outsiders seen as our common adversaries. It's about coming together for the common good."

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Bob Cesca: Republicans Can't Handle the Truth About Bin Laden

Bob Cesca: Republicans Can't Handle the Truth About Bin Laden: "The Republicans only ever used 9/11, bin Laden and terrorism to scare people into voting for them. This is fearmongering. It's the flagrant exploitation of both a tragedy and the threat of an on-the-loose maniac to trick voters into supporting Republican policies for no other reason than to ameliorate their irrational fear."

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Robert Reich: The Fable of the Century

Robert Reich: The Fable of the Century

Bank of America: Too Crooked to Fail | Politics News | Rolling Stone

Bank of America: Too Crooked to Fail | Politics News | Rolling Stone: "Bank of America: Too Crooked to FailThe bank has defrauded everyone from investors and insurers to homeowners and the unemployed. So why does the government keep bailing it out?"

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