Name: Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Belicoso Maduro

Country: Nicaragua

Shape: Box-pressed

Size: (5 inches x 52)

Strength: Medium to Full

I needed a break. I wanted to take a stroll to think and to smoke. So, after spending some time organizing my bookshelves, I wore my sneakers, gave the day’s cigar a straight cut, and walked out of my home office. Outside, the moon and the stars watched me light my cigar. They were envious, but they could only watch. A cool breeze came to steal some of the rising smoke. A smile formed on my face.

I was smoking a magnificent cigar. Buttery with notes of cocoa, pine nuts, and oak. I even got hints of rosemary and thyme.

The Padron 1964 Anniversary Series Belicoso Maduro is really something.

“Solitude, my old friend! Don’t you miss me?” I asked the night.

I took a few steps, and then I stopped. I blew out smoke and inhaled cool, fresh air.

“I’m loving it,” I said, and then I continued walking.

Name: El Septimo Gilgamesh Sable Shamash

Country: Costa Rica

Shape: Parejo

Size: Toro (6 inches x 50)

Strength: Medium

It was a Happy Halloween because I had the El Septimo Gilgamesh Sable Shamash.

I don’t get to smoke a lot of El Septimo cigars because not a lot of shops sell them here. Also, they’re not cheap. This one was a gift from a friend who was invited to our Halloween house party. He came in with a few good bottles of wine. And only two cigars for just the two of us.

To be honest, the Sable Shamash wasn’t as complex as I had expected it to be, but it was a good cigar. Its smell promised a little more than what I got to experience smoking it. I paired it with many drinks — first with a gin tonic, then with a full-bodied red wine, then with a Johnnie Walker Black Label, and finally with a Midori Sour. There was a sweetness to it, but it could also have been from the drinks I was having. I got leathery and nutty notes, and, at the end, peppery hints.