|
|
01-19-2009, 07:14 PM | #1 | ||
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Vintage Vuelta Abajo
I was recently gifted a fine selection of cigars by Scott Shilala, many of you know of his reputation for generosity and ingenuity.
One of the cigars, the Flor Extra Fina passed through Scott's hands via Joe, lenguamor. Scott writes, Quote:
That's John on the left, he was a roller at the shop when he was a boy. So when I received my weekly email notifying me that the Friday gathering of the Grindstone Cigar Club was "on" I responded with the following. Quote:
But first let me provide a small review of this cigar that had journeyed far and waited so long to go up in smoke. The initial pre-light aroma was one of cardboard and dry basement. This mild beauty had that look you sometimes see in a much older person's eyes, that tells you that in their day… Once we got past the first half inch of the cigar the flavor had strained hints of toasted bread. It was not until the last inch and a half did some real flavor make it to the party. Those last few draws had smoked mocha/coffee going on. Let the following photos tell the rest of the story. Last edited by tzaddi; 01-19-2009 at 07:26 PM. |
||
01-19-2009, 07:14 PM | #2 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
|
01-19-2009, 07:16 PM | #3 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
|
01-19-2009, 07:18 PM | #4 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
So the remains will rest encapsulated as a memory of a promise made by a seed planted so many years ago and fulfilled by many, many hands. |
01-19-2009, 07:21 PM | #6 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
|
01-19-2009, 08:18 PM | #8 |
Dear Lord, Thank You.
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
I'm so happy the cigar was a hit.
I can't tell you how happy I was that your old picture work and website update coincided with the arrival of the cigar. That's infinately cool. Goes to show that nothing in God's world happens by accident. The pictures of the wrapper really show how gorgeous it really is. The cigar itself was absolutely beautiful. I hadn't seen it (obviously) and I'd not imagined it would be even remotely that pretty. Did the guys think it was cool? I'm not surprised it wasn't much in the flavor department. I'm not a fan of aged smokes at all, but the old girls I've smoked have definately been a unique experience. Certainly worthwhile to at least try it out. Thank You for smoking that thing, Richard. The pictures and the story have honestly made me as happy as a guy can get.
__________________
|
01-19-2009, 08:47 PM | #9 | |
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
Quote:
|
|
01-19-2009, 09:43 PM | #11 | |
Dear Lord, Thank You.
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
Quote:
Thanks, buddy.
__________________
|
|
01-20-2009, 12:10 AM | #13 |
BABOTL
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
Very nice photos and commentary!!!
That is awesomely fantastic!!! Thanks Richard!!! BTW - Was that Jason taking a puff in the photo?
__________________
Smoke what you like!!! |
01-20-2009, 02:00 PM | #15 |
puta por Ninfas!
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
Wow!
You did the cigar justice much better than I could have hoped to, sharing it with friends like you did. Great thread, great pics and I'm glad you enjoyed it. These are history now, all gone or in the collections of other brothers. PS: I did see an empty box of these recently; it did not have the Chapin Grocery imprint, so apparently Sunkist did manufacture these for sale as stand-alone product. BTW, that pic of the old cigar store blew me away. Can you imagine having just one of each of the boxes of cigars on display there?
__________________
|
01-20-2009, 03:03 PM | #18 | ||
Guest
Posts: n/a
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
Quote:
Here are a couple more from that collection. Here is one of John Bartosh later in life as the store was winding down. Quote:
|
||
01-21-2009, 12:25 AM | #20 |
puta por Ninfas!
|
Re: Vintage Vuelta Abajo
Oh, that second set has a lot greater detail; you can see a lot of the brand labels on the boxes in the display case.
You know what surprises me, is how many of those brands were Italian cigars; Toscanos or Sigarettos. They might have been made in Italy, or made here with Italian tobacco, or manufactured here from domestic tobacco - but in the rough, Italian style. It just surprises me from the standpoint of how little demand there is now for cigars from that era in that style, compared to Clear Havanas and other domestically-made cigars; yet back then, they seemed to be quite popular.
__________________
|