I've discovered a fantastic booze: Absolut Peppar. A few people have been telling me to try it for some time now. A bottle was bought for this party and was throughly enjoyed by many. Absolut Peppar was one of the first (if not the first) of Absolut's flavored vodkas. It is infused with jalapeños, herbs, and green tomatoes to make a very interesting drink. I had a well chilled shot (imo vodka should be chilled anyway) that went down smooth and wasn't at all harsh like I expected. I could feel the cold going down followed by this wonderful warmth starting in my belly, moving up my chest and just radiating out from there. It was truly wonderful; it certanlly kept the chill out despite the rain - wow! After a shot of that I decided that more (excellent) venison chili might be a little too much spicy for me to handle. I've never been a fan of Absolut Vodka; this stuff, however, is a big exception. It's not Johnny Walker Blue good but it is quit good. It a certainly a unique kind of good... a warm, fuzzy feeling inside good.-
I don't really smoke, but every once and a while I enjoy a fine cigar. I bought a few that afternoon so that I could enjoy them outside with freinds drinking beer (or cider) and enjoying the fire.
I ended the night with a Macanudo, and reminded my self why I don't like Macanudos. This was a smaller one - about 4 1/2" long and around a 35 ring gauge - with a natural/Claro wrapper. It started a little harsh, generated mild flavors in the middle, then developed a terrible draw in the last 1/4. It wasn't a terrible smoke - I simply like more flavorful cigars - this one was more of a post wedding victory dance try out. Macanudos do have a very durable wrapper; I don't thing that I've ever had one unwrap on me because I was a little careless cutting the cap.
The second one was one of those tiny A. Fuente cigarillos. The are a cheap, good smoke when you don't feel like committing the time for a proper cigar or all you have is a Zippo to light it. I know a lot of people cringe when you mention Zippos and cigars in the same paragraph, but cigarillos can be lit with them. I just roast the end with then put it in my mouth and draw. It is not ideal, but it doesn't taste like kerosene either.
I smoked the best one first so that I could properly enjoy it before the rain:
The Cohiba Extra Vigoroso or XV - my favorite cigar. Very flavorful, almost sweet, smoke with a nice colorado maduro (Capa Corona) wrapper. The wrapper is Ecuadorian Sumatra tobacco taken only from the top of the plant and aged three years. I like the smaller - 5"-50 or 6"-45 - ones the best mostly for the better draw and the fact that I can rarely enjoy a larger one for its full duration. Cohibas tend to unwrap if you are a little rough when cutting or over zealous when using a punch (which I prefer) - especially when they start to dry out a little. More car is given to the XVs when they are wrapped so this much less likely to occur, and I have found the latest batches are even better still. It is just and excellent full flavored cigar. They are a limited production which means I enjoy them more the few times a year they com out. Read more here, and here.-
The most fun was had setting off the fire works! It started about 5:00 with bottle rockets, m-80, etc. That was a nice primer. When a man, who lives on a farm (space), is licensed (know what he is doing), and has proper permits (no po-po spoiling the fun) you can expect more. I was a shell monkey running shells to the 4" and 6" mortars - now those are fireworks!!! The steady rain made for few problems: two duds, one split mortar (we were safe so no injuries), an a hurried pace that limited coordination at times - all and all things when quite well with an excellent finish consisting of four finale boxes and a salvo of 3" mortars. I've never enjoyed running around in the rain more. The best place to see fireworks is directly underneath them!
This was one of the best holidays I've had in a long time - the next day: not so much.
