Blogger's Paradise, part 2

Doc and Tom Ufer getting their game faces on for the day

Thursday ended up a fairly late night, so Friday morning came all too soon. Breakfast was a nicely appointed affair...a buffet laid out by the Camp David Ranch staff. After food and several cups of coffee, it was time to get on the road

LA AURORA FACTORY TOUR

We got the royal tour of the La Aurora factory, led by Jose Blanco. Along the way we saw the room where many of our favorite cigars are brought to life from varying blends of tobacco, and saw how hard all the people work. I thought it must be amusing, or maybe just annoying, for all of them to see a group of gringo--and three Asians--wandering through their workspace snapping pictures by the hundreds and looking around in wonder at what for them is everyday life and the way they earn a living and feed their kids.

Mt. Ashmore in Jose Blanco's office

Jose then took several hours walking us through one of his famous blending seminars, starting off with one cigar that had 5 different sections of wrapper leaf so we could see how the different wrappers affect the overall flavor. We were made to guess what each leaf was and were all embarrassed about how few we got right. I ended up getting two of the five correct, which was pretty good as I don't know that anyone else got more than that. We then moved on to smoking four cigars we had to rate on a variety of factors, then guess what wrapper was used on them. It turned out that all four were Cameroon wrappers with apparently differing levels of age and possibly different blends. I asked Jose what the difference was and he said, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

Lunch was brought in and we were again treated to a great feast including beef and fish as well as this fantastic sweet fried plantain dish. Guillermo Leon joined us for lunch.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a tobacco field to take some pictures, although we were limited in how much we could do because the heavy rains had turned the soil to mud. On the plus side, the mix of clouds and sun made for some spectacular, dramatic shots. We ended that short visit by posing for "Skip-mocking" pictures including a group shot where we all flipped him the bird.

Then it was back to Camp David and a time for rest--or maybe more smoking--before dinner.

These people work hard for our past-time.

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

We went to Nestor Miranda's favorite Santiago restaurant, Nanno's, for dinner and were treated to more fine cigars, Brazilian-style steak (among other dishes) and live music. After dinner the bloggers ended up all heading back to Camp David even though one or two had intended to go out on the town. We gathered out on the patio overlooking Santiago and the Cibao Valley began to reflect on what we had learned that day. One topic making headlines recently is the way the IPCPR has thought about changing its attitude toward one specific sector of the cigar press--the bloggers.

There are some who feel we do not add any value to the cigar industry. I believe those people are a mix of industry insiders, manufacturers, and retailers, as well as just some general naysayers. There are others who feel that cigar blogging has done nothing but help the cigar community. As I looked around the table, it was hard to think that it was anything but the latter...I was conversing, imbibing, and herfing with a group of diverse people from around this great country of ours. Our backgrounds, experiences, politics, and accents could not have been more different, but we joined over the love of cigars and the desire to share our love and experiences with others. This was the very essence of "cigar community" and we spread this kind of experience to people all the time.

After a few hours of discussion, one person referred to the infighting that had occurred, but to me there was not so much "fighting" as a healthy debate that needed to be aired. At this point, the specific issues are not really appropriate to be spread around in a public forum, but I'll just say that I saw merit to both sides of the argument. In the end, I would have to say I sided with the majority of those out there that night...not because they outnumbered the others, but because they ended up bringing up too many good points.

Jose Blanco & Mario from Cigar Adventures

This debate will probably continue for a lot longer...maybe years, but this is the way it should be done...around a table, with give and take offered, smoking fine cigars and sipping on great libations. In my opinion, that's a better approach than leaks, rumors, and sending messages through the filter of certain people, no matter who those people are and their ultimate agenda. 

Cigars in the packaging room

Some tasty-looking sticks destined for Europe...for now.

The Blending Seminar Especial

Lovely to see the plants in the fields.