Name: La Aroma del Caribe Edicion Especial No. 1 Corona

Country: Nicaragua

Shape: Parejo

Size: Corona (5 1/2 inches x 46)

Strength: Medium

Cold, windy night.
Winding down on the balcony
in a trench coat.
Listening to the rain
that sounds like fire
devouring crunchy stone pine branches.

I comb my thick beard with my fingers.
I feel the cold resting on my face.
I try to brush it off — the cold —
unsuccessfully.

Yesterday was a good day.
Today is a good day, too.
There’s work, yes, but also time to rest.

It’s really cold, though.
My fingers want to snuggle into my pockets
and cuddle with the cutter and the lighter.
But they have work to do.

In thirty minutes,
when I’m done drinking and smoking,
I’ll go inside and sit by the fireplace.
I’ll give my fingers their well-deserved rest.
Maybe I’ll turn on the TV and have a cup of tea.

Name: Camacho Triple Maduro Gordo

Country: Honduras

Shape: Parejo

Size: Gordo (6 inches x 60)

Strength: Full

A full-bodied cigar,
dark
with notes of fearlessness and passion.

It burns majestically, cheerfully,
nostalgically like memories
shared
when you’re at a bar
with one of the best friends
life could give you.

Beer mugs are emptied
one after another.
Laughter…

Shots of whiskey are downed
like rounds of bullets,
with every shot killing a bad joke,
a bad day,
a bad memory.

Stories are told…

Drunkenness wraps itself
around your heart and your tongue.

Yes.

Sometimes,
you enjoy the moment so much
that you forget about space and time.
Sometimes,
you enjoy the cigar so much
that you forget something is burning
in your hand.

But you know this,
that always
fire is leisure,
love and life.
It is everything but
darkness and forgetfulness.

So you keep it burning
this fire that you have —
the cigar, the grill, the fireplace…
And never put it out
because, when you do,
tediousness will swallow you
and you will want to die.