Monday night I had the pleasure of meeting a true Cigar legend. Carlos Fuente Jr.
I am The Newbie so I of course had to try to get to Corona Cigar Company on Monday night and meet him. I didn't really know or understand how big a deal this was. I drove the 30 miles away from home and arrived with lots of time to spare. I got there and the place was packed with excited people, smoking cigars, having a drink and getting the opportunity to meet Carlos. I walked in to the store where I have never been, and ran in to the people I visit regularly at the Lake Mary Corona Cigar Company store. You've probably read my stories about Tommy and all the great guys at the Lake Mary stores and how they have been very instrumental in my journey into the world of cigars. I asked Tommy "What are you doing here," his response " I had to come and meet the Legend" to me that said it all. Tommy is one of the most knowledgeable cigar people I have had the opportunity to meet, and I value his opinion. I was also lucky enough to meet Jeff the owner of the Corona Cigar Company stores. Jeff was very hospitable and actually took his time and talked to me about some cigars and the business in general, and I took the time to tell him how much I appreciated his operations. I have been in retail since I was 16 and that is a very long time. I told Jeff my opinion of his people, his stores, and his whole operation as I see it. I told him he definitely has done it right, there is definitely a need for the stores he has. Now I'm not saying I don't like the Mom and Pop stores or the small individual stores I do, but Jeff and his people fill a bigger need.
Well as you can see I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Carlos that night. I told him a little about my journey and what I was doing, and then explained a little about my $10 rule. Everybody was smoking opus X's that night. Carlos said "you don't need a lot of money to smoke a really good cigar" "go pick out a magnum R they are my special blend and I think you might like that" So after exchanging our pleasantries, talking about the blog's Aficionado who Carlos knows from some big time events, I went to find the Magnum R. I got one and some other things to add to my collection. I lit the Magnum R and though I don't grade or rank cigars at shows because there is just too much going on to really concentrate on flavors, draws, burns and all the other things we reviewers talk about when we are in evaluation mode. I really enjoyed the Magnum R and these are definitely going to be a staple in my collection, because for $7 I can get A Robusto Magnum R that is especially blended by one of the master blenders of all time, a Fuente, and they are very enjoyable.
A note to Jeff if you take the time to read this, Thank you for having the people and processes you have, that allow someone like me, to meet Cigar people from all walks of life, enjoying cigars in a friendly comfortable atmosphere. Without you and your operations I would not have met some great people in the cigar industry like Carlos, or Victor, or Jason. To all the people that make your special blends for us to enjoy, I want to say thank you. My journey has been short but luckily for me I have had the chance to try many cigars and meet several important people in the industry, and of course tweet with some of them every day.
The Newbie
No comments:
Post a Comment