[Sca-cooks] Semi-topical query re one of The Hundred: Cigars

[Kingstaste]

Another question, why the combination with brandy, specifically?  I have bad
memories of my dad's cars all through my childhood, his cigars were vile and
they stunk up the car even when he wasn't actively smoking in them, but I'm
not going there Adamantius, I swear.  I am just curious as to what part of
the experience is improved by the combination of the cigar and the brandy,
specifically filling the glass with the smoke then inhaling it (to take in
the fumes from the brandy, with the smoke, sure), but is there something I'm
missing here?  Is it just that having them together is a combination of two
pleasant things enhancing one another, or is there some actual interaction?

And then there's the smoking jacket, a dress code for this culinary treat?  
As long as you're going to discuss the finer points of the smoke, I'm
curious as to how it interacts with the drink. 
Christianna

-----Original Message-----
From: sca-cooks-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:sca-cooks-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Phil Troy / G.
Tacitus Adamantius
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 3:52 PM
To: Cooks within the SCA
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Semi-topical query re one of The Hundred: Cigars

Hullo, the list!

I'm going out on a limb here. I was interested to see some of the  
comments on one of the objects mentioned among the Hundred Foods/ 
Gustatory Experiences one should have in his/her lifetime. The item?  
Cigars.

While I'm really not interested in hearing how much people hate them  
(Yeah, we get it), I am very interested in hearing from some of the  
people who don't, and specifically those who actually enjoy them once  
in a while. More specifically, what are your preferences?

A virtual smack on the head to those who tell me "Cubans," which is  
approximately as meaningless as telling me you like any wine as long  
as it's French. Cuban what??? Why?

For example, I'm coming to the conclusion that I don't much care for  
Dominican or Jamaican leaf filler, and prefer Honduran or, better yet,  
Nicaraguan filler grown from Cuban seed stock, in either a natural  
Cuban-seed (grown in any of several places), a shade-grown Connecticut  
Valley (people often forget Tobacco Road is in New England), or a  
sweet-spicy-espresso-chocolatey, coal-black, Brazillian Maduro wrapper.

Shapes: I'm a torpedo guy, and don't like those skinny fake Churchills  
with small ring sizes: larger ring sizes seem to tend to burn cooler.

On brands from the more readily-accessible post-embargo types, I've  
had good experiences with Ghurkas, Sol Cubanos, and Perdomo.

Anybody else have any particulars they'd like to share? Of course, I'm  
assuming we're people of taste here and this will not become a  
discussion on people's bad manners in inflicting their vile fumes on  
the unappreciative. Which, admittedly, can get pretty vile indeed when  
not properly controlled ;-) ...

Thanks!

Adamantius






"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter

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