Posted: 10:39 AM ET, 09/03/09Every cigar smoker has experienced the feeling of not being welcome. You walk up to a bar, cigar in hand, and encounter a sign. Perhaps it says NO SMOKING. Worse, you might enter the haze of a smoky bar, sit down at your stool, take out a cigar and only then see the sign that says NO CIGAR SMOKING, letting you know that only cigarettes are welcome. Read more
Posted: 01:15 PM ET, 09/02/09I’m in Tampa, Florida, which once was the heart of American cigar production. In the 1950s, some 500 million cigars a year were made here. Things are a bit different now. When Havatampa Inc. closed its doors in July, it left only one cigar company making cigars in any volume in the Tampa area: J. Read more
Posted: 12:23 PM ET, 08/28/09What do you consider a bargain-priced cigar? A $5 smoke? One retailing for $4? Less than $4? Or maybe it’s simply a cigar that gives you a great smoking experience for less than you would expect.
Every year at Jack Bettridge Posted: 03:51 PM ET, 08/26/09No, this isn't a blog about Sarah Palin and cylindrical, metal packages for storing cigars. Rather, it involves watching cigars on television. Specifically, the classic Western "Maverick."
As discussed in a previous blog, cigar smoking on television or in the movies always captures my attention. Read more
Posted: 03:01 PM ET, 08/25/09It’s always hard as summer winds down, and you’re left wondering how the last three months disappeared. The 2009 version, in the Northeast, will be remembered as one of the coolest, wettest summers on record, although the last couple of weeks have been making some headway on the temperature front. Read more
Posted: 12:39 PM ET, 08/21/09I didn’t end up making the aforementioned trip to Kentucky to see the cooperage operation for Brown-Forman, but I also didn’t go to Niagara Falls as my wife had schemed. Where the family actually went (after much begging from my daughter Grace, who is fascinated by all things historical) was Mystic Seaport. Read more
Posted: 11:16 AM ET, 08/19/09I haven’t spent a lot of time in Vermont, but it’s always been my impression that Vermonters travel to the beat of their own drum. They still hold dear those values of our forefathers, especially those regarding self-reliance and the whole live and let live ethos. Read more
Posted: 04:17 PM ET, 08/17/09My father died on July 28. He was ill for a short time, went through a tough operation, gave us hope that he would soon be back on his feet, but died very quickly of a heart attack on a Tuesday morning. One day he was there, the next he was gone.
His sudden passing was a dignified and painless way to go, but it was hard on those he left behind. Read more
Posted: 02:19 PM ET, 08/13/09Sometimes even the masters return to the basics.
When I was invited to meet Angus Winchester, the global brand ambassador for Tanqueray gin at Raines Law Room for a drink, I was expecting anything but something basic. First, the peripatetic Winchester is a loyal soldier in the cocktail revolution, seen seemingly everywhere, from bars to television to books, promoting excellence in drinking. Read more
Posted: 10:21 AM ET, 08/12/09Monday night was a busy one. Barry and I walked to the Alec Bradley party. On the way we stumbled across the Cigar Factory of New Orleans, which I’d consider a must stop for any cigar smoker coming to the Big Easy. They had 8 rollers working when I visited, pumping out handmade cigars in a very rustic atmosphere. Read more
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