Moving update UPDATE

 Hello, my smoking friends and fans! You may have been wondering why there haven't been any more sets posted, or updates, or socials, or anything, since my update about moving to my new place. 

Well, I'll tell you why. Slumlords. That's why. It turns out that there are a LOT of problems with this place, that were cleverly disguised with new, nice looking flooring and other "band-aids" to make it seem like the "newly renovated" moniker meant it was in good condition. In reality, the new paint, flooring, trim, etc was hiding rotting floor supports and subfloor, ancient, brittle, and faulty wiring, plumbing issues, roof damage, and more. After fighting with the property owners for months, and finally legally forcing them to start fixing things for REAL (rather than sending in their tame, general contractor, maintenance guys in to jerry rig things), they decided to evict me on the basis of the place needing major renovation. Yup. That's right.. the very things I am making them fix are now the reason for my being kicked out. Because they HAVE to fix them now, but if they fix them while I live here, they aren't allowed to raise my rent because of it, AND they would have to put me up in another unit they own whilst the work is being done. So they are pulling permits and doing the renos, and then will rent it out to a brand new sucker for a much higher rent. I feel bad for whomever that is, cause these guys are the epitome of slumlords. I was never even able to get my stuff completely unpacked or the rooms of back yard area set up properly, due to all the issues, let alone have time or space to enjoy a nice cigar.

BUT... Don't feel bad for me, because guess what! I found a MUCH better place.. A real house (not mobile home), a little bigger, but with a HUGE, fenced yard, a nice patio, a lovely rose garden, an attached, partially enclosed (soon to be fully enclosed and contain my workshop and a play room) and lots of other great features. 

So, moving day is this Thursday - 4 days from now, and boy do I have lots of plans for this beautiful property! There will definitely be many a stoagie enjoyed in my luxurious, back yard oasis, in the outdoor living room, dining room, rose garden, and around the fire pit. 

I'll be posting some pictures soonish!

I'm finally moving into my new home!

  In just a couple, short (although they feel like forever! LOL) days, I am going to be moved into my new house. Above, there's a pic from when I was there checking out the property pre-move in to get set for my actual move, and my doggo checking out the neighbour cats out one of the VERY MANY windows. The move is commencing tomorrow (Friday). I won't have internet until (hopefully) sometime on Saturday or Sunday, assuming everything is wired as it ought to me. And, of course I'll be pretty busy all weekend with moving stuff, but by midweek, I expect to be able to post an update!

What that means for you is that I will, once again, finally have space - and NICE space at that, both indoors and out, for some really good quality photo shoots. 

No more everything being in my desk chair, mere inches from my bed and everything else crammed into a single room, and bad lighting. 

Nope! There will be sets in my living room, my play room/dungeon, my very generously sized front porch, my adorable little back yard (with a tall privacy fence), maybe even a bubble bath set! And yes, there will still be sets from Zoom sessions, at my desk, but even those will be much nicer due to proper lighting and nicer background. The first couple of those might be less nice in the lighting and background department, what with tons of boxes and all, but as soon as I've got everything unpacked and in place properly, look out!

Oh! And also, for those of you who had regularly (or even occasionally) tuned in to my radio shows, those will be resuming soon as well! Who knows? Maybe, if the internet is good enough, we could do a live Zoom cigar chat whilst I am DJing a time or two. Then you can tune in to my show for some great tunes whilst we smoke!

I'm so excited! 

So, until my next post from my new home, 

Smokey Kisses,

(̅_̅{K}_̅_̅_̅_̅()ڪے

~ Khaos

Cigar Smoking Mini Sets #46 & #47 Uploaded

 

2019.08.18 ~ Man O' War Ruination Belicoso

Just a mini "set" with a couple pics of me enjoying a summer evening Man O' War Ruination Belicoso on the back patio.  

2019.08.20 ~ Nub 460 Connecticut

Another mini set finds me on the back patio on a sweltering August afternoon. I picked the Nub cause it was too hot to stay outside long enough to smoke a bigger cigar. And I smoked that Nub right down to the nub! Definitely more of a breakfast cigar for me, but it was still delicious.  

Cigar Set #63 Uploaded ~ 2022.09.08 ~ Man O'War Ruination

 

Just another lil set with 77 smokey photos from my Thursday Zoom call. The Man O'War Ruination was calling my name that day, and it was oh, so delicious. One of these days, I'll get around to actually reviewing those, cause they are really nice. 

Stogie Set #62 Uploaded ~ 2022.09.01 ~ Oliva Serie V

 I FINALLY finished going through and editing more than 200 photos from this set, and uploading the 176 that made the cut. During this weekly Zoom encounter, I enjoyed an Oliva Serie V in these, one of my top 10 cigars for sure! In fact, my review back in 2010 rated it 10/10. That said, I was new to writing reviews back then, and I really need to reprise that one. Guess that means I'll have to force myself to smoke another Serie V. Darn! ;)

Cigar Set #59 Released ~ 2022.05.19 ~ OM Final Blend

 

Here is a short set whilst thoroughly enjoying a very tasty, 2010, limited run, Final Blend from Famous Smoke. Unfortunately, it had been hiding out in my humidors for over 10 years, and by the time I discovered this wonderful smoke, it was too late to get any more. Read my review of this smoke here.

Cigar Set #61 Uploaded ~ 2022.08.25 ~ Drew Estate Tabak Especial Red Eye

 

My regular, Thursday afternoon Zoom session from last week. This time over an hour and a half of great conversation with fine cigars and coffee. Mmmmmm... good!
I discussed and reviewed this smoke during the course of the call too, and then wrote it all down. See the review here.
And if you want your own, private, cigar Zoom call with me, you can schedule a virtual session here.

Cigar Set #44 Uploaded ~ Gran Habano Vintage Corojo 2002

Another previously unreleased set uploaded. This one finds me puffing on a a Gran Habano Vintage Corojo 2002 on the front porch of my home at the time.

Review ~ Drew Estate Tabak Especial Red Eye (8/10)

    Country of origin: Nicaragua    
    Size: 4.5"x54
    Shape: Robusto
    Strength: Meduim
    Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
    Binder: Nicaraguan
    Filler: Nicaraguan

I usually have a piece of chocolate with my cigar, but in this case, it would be redundant, as the cigar is plenty sweet and chocolatey all on its own.

The write-ups promise such things as: 

"savory espresso notes and a touch of milk chocolate, all perfectly balanced by a sweet, velvety aftertaste."

And make note of:

"three times the ligero typically used to produce a cigar this size."

A guarantee of the full punch that goes long with that much ligero is more than implied.

Those assurances seemed overstated at first, but proved true enough, and it was definitely a most enjoyable cigar, as was the case the first time I smoked one a year or so ago.  

So, lets get right into it. 

Appearance:  Lovely, velvety dark brown, a little rougher veined than some, which, along with the shag foot and pigtail cap, gave it an old world, kind of rustic appeal.

Construction: Well built, medium solid pack, which is to say it has a bit more give than some of my regular go-to smokes, but no soft or "saggy spots or anything like that. It's built well.

Aroma: Sweet and chocolaty, evoking childhood memories of See's Candy in the mall, and the promise of free samples of normally forbidden treats. In a word, delicious.

Cold Draw: A "cool" (kinda like ice cream), creamy, undefined sweet flavour.

Cut: No cut needed - just bit off the pigtail and all was great.  

Light:  Very easy and even light, in large part due to the shag foot.

Draw:  The draw was perfect from the start, which is not nearly as common as it ought to be.

First Third: Immediately after lighting, I'm tasting the same kind of "undefined" sweetness as I noted in the cold draw, but that quickly morphed into a very sweet cream flavour, with just the slightest touches of coffee noticeable on the retrohale. Getting into the latter half of the first third, the sweetness has a more distinct chocolate flavour, and more of the coffee starting to come through toward end.

Second Third: Some of the ligero and espresso notes began to vie for centre stage, along with a touch of caramel (what!), and some  delightful, buttery nuance making an appearance. Into the second half, it's tasting more like a latte and the flavours are blending very nicely in the finish. It's still pretty mild, but I'm not complaining. The mouth feel is sweetly buttery, leaving a very light coating on the roof of the mouth.

Last Third: If they made sweet espresso cotton candy, and it translated well, it would taste like this! The strength is finally evident and the promised punch is delivering deliciously, with a dark espresso and burnt sugar finish. The cream has pretty much completely disappeared halfway through this last third, and there is definite pepper lingering on the tongue. There is quite a bit more of the ligero and espresso on the retrohale in the final stretch, and it keeps making me sneeze (weird), so maybe it's more spicy than seems, but again, no complaints.

Burn: Pretty even burn throughout, with only a couple touch ups, and those may have been cause of the fans running and forgetting to rotate.

Smoke: Lots of billows of creamy, white smoke, with a texture all its own. 

Ash: Very light grey - almost white, and flaky. This isn't the stick for your local herf's long ash contests. It only held about an inch at a time, and I ended up with ash down my front a few times. At least, being as loose and flaky as it was, it wasn't hot! And really, I don't care that much anymore about what anyone is going to think when I make an ash of myself. (OK, OK, I know. That was horrid. I can't help it!)  Not for smoking over your in-laws' expensive carpet, and if you are self conscious about ash on your shirt, maybe save these for at home smokes.

Bottom Line: The Red Eye may not start out of the gate a clear winner, but stick with it, and its definitely a smoke that risks burning the lips as you smoke it as far down as you dare. I give it a solid 8/10. 

Smokey Kisses has a New Logo!

 

 Hello, my smoking friends and fans!

I finally designed an official logo for Smokey Kisses, that will be affixed to exclusive SK merchandise (more on that coming soon!). This will be items in addition to what is already available in the SK Cafe Press Store. There's the full version, above, and a basic, simpler version, suitable for printing on a wider variety of items, below. 

 

Stay tuned for some exciting new developments that are part of the reason for an official logo that is better suited to printing than the regular site logo.

I haven't decided yet if the new logo is going to replace the current one on the website or not. I'm certainly open to suggestions! 

I might try it out for a while and see what sort of reception it gets. 

Coming up next, look for a review of  Drew Estate's Tabak Especial Red Eye, and a casual photo set of me smoking it for said review during a Zoom session. 

Until then,

Smokey Kisses,

(̅_̅{K}_̅_̅_̅_̅()ڪے

~ Khaos