Ever have one of those times where a cigar just added that lil’ certain somethin’ extra to the moment? I had one of those times yesterday…

My wife and I had just completed 4+ hours of yard work under the 97-degree Tennessee summer sun. Drenched and drained, I melted into that familiar adirondack chair. The shade of the porch and the physical act of not moving felt amazing. That said, there is something utterly gratifying about completing an honest afternoon of hard, sweaty work when you see how much better the house looks for your efforts.

We were both exhausted, but on her way to falling into a warm bath, my ever-thoughtful bride brought me out an ice-cold Peroni beer to help kickstart the recuperation process. It was the perfect time to enjoy a good cigar on the patio and welcome in Sunday evening. I went to my humidor and grabbed a Drew Estate ‘Dirty Rat.‘ I’ve been a fan of this cigar since Steve Saka handed me one at The Outlaw Grand Opening event a coupla years ago. Back then, they weren’t in regular production and Steve told me that they were his ‘personal smoke.‘

Allow me to venture off on a brief tangent here. I’m a long-time fan of Jonathan Drew and the Drew Estate operation. I’m not sure you would find a more creative, energetic, and sincerely passionate group of people in our business. While I’ve never been into the “infused” cigars (but hey, they have their audience), they’ve been releasing some excellent non-”infused” cigars of late: Liga Privada No. 9, T52, Flying Pig, and of course, the Dirty Rat. I give a lot of credit to Jonathan, Steve, and one Nicholas Melillo. If you don’t know Nicholas, you should. He has a wealth of tobacco knowledge and blending experience, and has had much to do with the good stuff that’s coming out of DE these days. He’s also had a most fascinating life (ask him about his time at the Vatican) before his time in the cigar industry, too. Nick’s a good man. If you’re on twitter, follow him @NicaNick.

Anyway, I cut and lit my ‘Dirty Rat.‘ I love this particular size: 5” x 44. The cigar world needs more great small ring gauge cigars! I took a long pull off my Peroni, put my earbuds on, and logged into my Spotify account. I put my head back, closed my eyes, and let an eclectic mix of Tom Petty-Fleetwood Mac-Dave Brubeck-Johnny Cash take me away while the sweat dried on my body. The cigar drew like Picasso and tasted like a cocktail of sweet wood-leather-spice-and-earthy goodness. The flavors were layered and complex. With each exhale, the smoke lingered in the air above my head; I swear I was so relaxed that I could make out shapes and figures in the smoke like cloud formations.

It was 30-to-35 minutes of a sumptuous-Sunday afternoon, my friends. When it was over, I took the earbuds out, grabbed the empty beer bottle, peeled my weary bones away from my good friend ‘Mr. Adirondack,‘ and headed inside to grab a much-needed shower.

I’ve always said that the most gratifying part of this business is creating a product that lends pleasure to someone’s day/night. It was really nice to be on the receiving end of that pleasure yesterday. So, a big ‘THANK YOU‘ to my friends at Drew Estate for making a fantastic lil‘ cigar and for putting me in a Drew eSTATE of mind.

Grazie Mille!