By: John Moralis
Late Summer nights of comfortably lounging on your favorite patio furniture are a not too distant memory. We've traded warm breezes for cold blasts of air, and while many of us are patiently waiting for the first major snowfall—some of us have seen some flakes fly, which is just a taste of what's likely to come. Soon enough, mountains of the white stuff will overwhelm our outdoor sanctuaries, and we'll be longing for the big thaw so we can once again enjoy our cigars without resorting to physical labor just to clear a path to our patios or decks.
There are plenty of salvageable evenings between now and the first white out, but there is definitely a chill in the air, so limiting your exposure to the elements could be in your best interest. After all, you don't want to go and catch a sniffle—this will surely inhibit your ability to enjoy premiums for a few days, and we all know how miserable that can be. I would suggest stocking up on some tins of small cigars and cigarillos from premium brands. I know what you're thinking—small cigars equal small flavor, which in my humble opinion is simply untrue.
Take Drew Estate for example. You all know this brand for its modern take on cigars. From its infused ACID line to the highly coveted Liga Privada blends, you know and love this brand, so why not give its cigarillos the benefit of the doubt? ACID C-Notes are literally a short and sweet cigar. Wrapped in a Sumatra wrapper, and brimming with Nicaraguan fillers cured in essential oils, you'll get the signature Drew Estate aroma and flavor, but you want need to devote the same amount of time needed for a full-sized cigar.
For those who enjoy coffee infused cigars, there is little doubt you've heard of Nub Café. While these sweet gems are some of the most flavorful premiums around—their short and stout vitola takes at least an hour to burn. This does not bode well if you're trying to keep all of you appendages from going numb during the winter months. That's where their little brothers come into play. Nub Cappuccino, Espresso, and Macchiato are all available in a cigarillo size, meaning they've got the same great flavor, in a smaller package.
Keeping with the big flavor, small package theme, CAO Flavours Tins are another cunning way to avoid Jack Frost's savage attacks. Like so many other brands, CAO takes great care to ensure its cigarillos offer the same experience as their traditional counterparts such as CAO Brazilia and Gold. Available in six different varieties with flavors like Bella Vanilla, Cherrybomb, and Gold Honey, you can be sure that all have the same tasting notes, but a fraction of the burn time.
If you're looking to take a traditional route, classic brands like Romeo y Julieta and Partagas offer flavor-packed pint-sized versions of their legendary cigars. Partagas Black Label Prontos are identical to its big-ring counterpart in every way, except for the size of course. Made with a Medio Tiempo Sun Grown wrapper, this small but mighty incarnation of a full-bodied cigar is sure to impress.
Continuing on the traditional path, Romeo y Julieta offers three blends in its line of Miniatures. The strengths range from mellow to medium, and each of these mini-premiums has classic Dominican flavor with a fraction of the burn time. So, venturing outside during the frigid winter air won't be such a daunting task.
Premiums are our passion, so why should we let a little cold weather get in the way of that? After all, it was the late, great Mark Twain who once said, "Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man's enjoyment of his cigar." So I say, grab yourself a warm beverage, throw on your coat, and indulge with some cigarillos.