Various thoughts...

Monday has become the day on the Tiki Bar where various stuff gets thrown against the wall of the web and we see what sticks. Interviews are always fun, libation reviews are enjoyable for the reviewer at the very least, and news items are always welcome. Today I had more than one topic that I wanted to talk about and then a cool news item came in, so I figured I would try to work them all into one article...

CIGAR BOSS

This is an iPhone app that is now in its 2.0 iteration. Its main feature for consumers is a library with information on over 7,000 cigars. The information is current and fairly comprehensive; my 2011 cigar of the year, Four Kicks by Crowned Heads, is listed, as is the Tatuaje Black Petite Lancero, one of the runners-up, but the other runner-up (Grimalkin by Emilio Cigars) is not listed. Each cigar has size and average price listed along with the country it was made and the country of the wrapper leaf, although no space is left for filler and binder. There is a nice description and links to three or so reviews.

The "Cigar News" button on the Home page takes you to a "Feeds" page that includes some of the best and most widely read cigar blogs around, including Stogie Review, The Stogie Guys, Nice Tight Ash...and, of course, the Tiki Bar Online.

The "Local Shops" feature is designed to help you find tobacconists. I can seen where this would be helpful if you were in a strange city, but I also see how it could be confusing or less than helpful. In my small town, there are exactly "0" tobacconists, but the app lists a local cigarette shop that sells the typical convenience store cigars (Black & Mild, Backwoods, etc.). There are 3 or more of these listed in areas south of me, but I know these are not really shops that I would be interested in as there is only 1 company with "real" cigar shops in southeast Tennessee (Burns Tobacconist, with 3 locations).

Other parts of the app have ways to manage the contents of your humidor, a place to take notes, and a link to "Cigars" on Wikipedia. The last, I guess, is for total newbies and it does not seem like it would be of much use long-term. I did not get around to working with "My Humidor;" simply put, I have too many cigars to try to catalog everything at this point. As for "My Cigar Notes"...I already have a place to take and store those...it's called this blog. :)

I find Cigar Boss overall an interesting and somewhat helpful app. As information is updated it will continue to be more useful, but I think especially it can be helpful to the newer smokers or someone who wants to store lots of info in one place. The problems I have with it are few, but some key changes here might actually make me more likely to use it. First, the app's splash screen states "Loading Might Take a Few Minutes On First Launch." I found that loading took several minutes anytime the app hadn't been used for a few days or more. I would like to see it just launch then download the updated information in the background. Second, there is no real iPad version of the app. I would be more likely to take notes and use it as a reading portal app if there were an iPad version...I just don't read much on the iPhone because the screen is so much smaller.

The app is free if you are okay with ads on the screen; a Pro version sans ads is $2.99. It is iPhone-only at this time and there is no indication on the company's website or marketing material that it will be developed soon for other OSes.

Update: if you read as far as the comments section you'll see this, but if you don't make it that far...a comment was left indicating that an Android version of Cigar Boss will be available next month. Also version 3 will be coming soon with updates and bug fixes. Also, if you are on Twitter you can follow Cigar Boss at @Cigar_Boss_App.

GRAN HABANO IS GOING TO MIAMI

This press release just came into my Inbox while I was contemplating what to write this morning...

The  Gran Habano - G.R. Tabacaleras Co. cigar factory located on "Calle Ocho", 8th street, in the Little Havana district of Miami is completed and ready to roll. Focusing on the highest standard for the cigar community the factory will employ 10 Cuban rollers who will produce no more than 1,000 cigars per day to ensure quality and consistency. This will be the base of our new cigar line “Gran Habano Miami” which will lead off with the soon-to-be-released Black Corojo, Opium Miami and the continuance of our STK program.

Black Corojo will be an extension of our popular Gran Habano Corojo #5 line. As the name implies, it will feature the industries first black corojo cigar wrapper. Due to the overwhelming success of our Opium release it will become a regular production cigar line known as Opium Miami. Production on both of these cigars will be based on traditional Cuban sizes and the blends will be revised to take the connoisseur to the next level.A blend lab, called G.A.R. Deli, will also be made available to anyone who has ever dreamt of creating their own cigar. This program will put you in the position of the master blender; allowing the creation of a cigar tailored to your unique palate. Materials on hand will fluctuate every two weeks to affirm that the possibilities are endless.

Our Gran Habano - G.R. Tabacaleras Co. factory also features a luxury lounge and the official Gran Habano humidor. Patrons will be able to choose from our lines - both old and new. We also have products that are not widely available to the public such the Corojo #5 lancero, Cabinet Selection (and a private Cabinet Selection Lancero) and other unique size formats. The exact opening date to the public will shortly be announced - so stay tuned.

Now I really want to take that long-planned trip to Miami! I've got an ever-growing list of places that I'll need to visit and this sounds like a lot of fun, with the lounge and the opportunity to create your own blend.

AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

When I got up Saturday, I expected to do nothing for the day. My wife had already declared that she was taking a "veg day" and I figured it was a good idea for me, too. I didn't even get out of bed until 9:30 or so! I was in no hurry to eat or get ready to go anywhere, but as I was reading through my Twitter timeline, I discovered that my friend, Nate McIntyre (@CigarNate) was hosting an Emilio Cigars (@EmilioCigar) event at Silo Cigars in Knoxville (Farragut, really, but does anyone outside the Knoxville metro area know where Farragut is?). I remarked that if I had known he was going to be there I might have planned on going...then Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigar recommended I go stand next to my mailbox...because he knew that the Emilio polo shirt he sent me was due to arrive anytime. That kind of sealed it...I needed to go to Knoxville, support Nate and represent (fist pump!) Emilio Cigars from the consumer/blogger/fan perspective. So I did...

I got to talk to the owner of Silo Cigars, Paul, at some length that day and got lots of insights into how state laws affect cigar stores and how difficult it can be for a cigar shop to be successful. Paul runs a very nice shop not far off Interstate 40 on the west side of Knoxville. If you are ever in the area, I recommend stopping by...buy a cigar and an RC Cola in a long-neck bottle (drop in salted peanuts if that's your thing!), and kick back in the lounge a while.

I found out from one of Paul's employees about the closing of another area shop recently. There was a rumor going around that Mike Nelson would be selling or otherwise closing Leaf & Ale and that has appeared to bear out. I wish Mike the best in whatever he plans to do next.

In the end, Nate had a good day meeting a bunch of new folks at Silo and Paul ended up ordering a good number of cigars in joining the Emilio Cigars family. And I had a good day because I got to hang with friends, smoke some great cigars, and get some new sticks to "fill in the holes" in my calendar. One of the things we talked about was the availability of the Drew Estate Ferrel Pig. Even limiting supplies to "1 per customer" Paul sold out of 4 boxes (sent 2 boxes per shipment) within hours of their arrival. I hadn't been able to get my hands on any so he went to his personal locker and gave me his last one. Thank you again to Paul...that review will run as soon as I can fit it into the schedule. I would like to invite everyone to give Silo Cigars a follow on Twitter, too...@SiloCigars.