Ahh… Sao Paolo… My wife and I are here for a few days before we make a trek to the coast (Maceio) for a wedding. Today, I had a few hours of free time as my wife, who’s a contract English teacher – had a couple of clients, so I immediately searched out cigar lounges close to our hotel. There were actually a few of them, so I chose the closest one which was Tabaclaria Roma.
I was on a mission to find cigars that were produced in the country of Brazil, not just cigars that used Brazilian tobacco. As I had discovered while doing some research prior to my trip, there weren’t that many producers and Tabaclaria Roma only had a few Brazilian marcas.
Now though they had several boxes from the Brazilain producers in stock, there were a couple of challenges I had in choosing. First, and most obvious, was the language barrier. Even when I used Google translate, the nuance wasn’t there and it made communication a little difficult. Second, as I mentioned above, they had several blends from their Brazilian marcas.
To remedy the situation, I took out my 5-stick “Herf-a-dor” and showed the young man who was helping me what I had in the box: A Tatuaje Nic 7th, Aganorsa Leaf, Regius Sun Grown, Monte White Label, and an Oliva O Maduro. His eyes kind of popped when he saw them, but then he understood. He immediately pointed out two of his favorites, a Dannemann Mata Fina Maduro and a Dona Flor Seleçao. I took one of each and I couldn’t resist getting a Cuban Montecristo #4. It was only $20 so it was worth it. I also got a VegaFina 1998 since I’d heard so much about it, but hadn’t had one yet.
So, I paid for the cigars, then went out to their outdoor lounge area and lit up the Dannemann. <mind blown> It was a fantastic stick that I will write about later. It was SO good that I ended up buying a box. They weren’t cheap at $175 for a box of 10 toros, but I will be keeping these to age for a while.
I also got a 5er of a brand new stick from Master Cigar Sommelier, Don Emanuel, called the Anunnaki. They come in two vitolas: Ki (5 X 50) and Anu (6 X 52). I got the Anu size. What is absolutely exciting about these is that they’re made in a partnership between Don Emanuel and the venerable Eladio Dias of Davidoff fame. I picked one up and it felt like I was holding a Davidoff; so solid and perfectly shaped. I can’t wait to smoke one of these!
Because the three guys at the shop were so helpful, I gave them each a cigar from my box in thanks. That prompted the owner, Henat, to give me a discount on my box and 5er. It just goes to show how tight this community is the world over.
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