Smoking a San Lotano Oval Maduro at Cafe de Monaco in Beirut, Lebanon

Have a Cigar: San Lotano Oval Maduro Toro

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Name: San Lotano Oval Maduro Toro

Country: Nicaragua

Size: Toro (6 inches x 52)

Strength: Medium to Full

Good cigar. Excellent construction. The San Lotano Oval Maduro by A.J. Fernandez was a happy discovery. This is a good reminder that trying new things is often rewarding. It’s also a good reminder that one shouldn’t always stick to the sticks he knows.

I paired my San Lotano Oval Maduro Toro with a glass of Irish whiskey. It burned evenly and lasted a little more than 90 minutes. I liked the draw and the amount of smoke it gave. The notes I got were cocoa, dark roast coffee, oak, and white pepper.

I’d give it a good 85/100, and I wouldn’t mind burning one occasionally.

“Nameless” by Misak Metsarents

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Misak Metsarents (1886-1908) was a Western Armenian neo-romantic poet. This is my translation of “Nameless” from Armenian to English.

Nameless

Wild flower, what’s your name?
Tell me! Sitting in the shade of a fence
Made of briars and green leaves,
Wild flower, what’s your name?

White, milky, sappy
Fragrant flower, what’s your name?
Tell me! Don’t you quiver a little
When the sweet breeze blows?

Proud flower! What’s the name
Of the spirit who passed by you,
Leaving behind waves
Of humbleness and black amber?

Do you know, flower, the name
Of the shiver brought by the breeze,
And the name of the voice calling me?

La Aroma Del Caribe Edicion Especial at Amelia in Mar Mikhael, Beirut, Lebanon.

Have a Cigar: La Aroma Del Caribe Edicion Especial No. 3

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Name: La Aroma Del Caribe Edicion Especial No. 3

Country: Nicaragua

Shape: Parejo

Size: Toro (6 inches x 50)

Strength: Medium to Full

I have smoked the corona vitola of this line before, so the pleasure I derived from the Toro was not completely new. Although the last time I smoked an Edicion Especial was months ago, the earthy, leathery, and nutty harmony of notes was quite familiar.

Paired with Ketel One vodka and 7 Up, in the company of good friends at a bar in Mar Mikhael, I had a very good experience overall.