Cigar Loving Doorman: Rants, Plugs and Praise

Ireland got hammered by Croatia today in their first game of Euro 2012. Somehow people were surprise

I am not a major fan of International Football although it is very hard not to get caught up in all the furor when Ireland are in a major competition. My only problem is the constant references to Stuttgart in '88 and Italia 90. A time when Ireland done quiet well under a manager who instead of utilising, in my opinion, the best midfield Ireland have ever seen, chose to pump the long ball up to two ten foot tall donkeys.

Ireland are nowhere near the standard of the teams in their group and it amazes me how people are shocked at a defeat. Anyway, football rant over, and depending on Thursday and Mondays game, I could be back here singing "We're all part of Trappy's Army"

Back to the important (sic) stuff. The Flora Women's Mini Marathon took place on the bank holiday Monday and over 40k woman ran the race. One of them was the Mrs. It was a glorious day in Dublin and with a creak in my neck (long, painful story) I sauntered up to St. Stephens Green to meet her at the finish line. There was around 33 minutes on the clock when the first woman crossed the line. I was expecting the Mrs any second now!!! An hour later and a bit more colour on my face, she crossed the line. I was later told that due to the large amount of people, the Mrs didn't even cross the start line for ages. Her official time for the 10k run was 01:18:25. I was very proud.

The next day I was helping Mr.Byrne move to his lovely new house. I was cast in the role of "Furniture Removal Guy". After a few hours lifting, dragging, pushing and pulling, the majority was done. At least I know if all else fails I can move furniture for a living. Who needs the Gym!!

The rest of the week was uneventful. A few nice Cigars, one or two not so nice. I have taken to Twitter in a big way recently. You can find me by typing in @CigarDoorman. (I am also on Facebook: Cigar Loving Doorman - Shameless plug - Please like my page!!) What has really surprised me is the genuine love for Cigars. Cigar pictures, discussions, comparisons etc.. you get the drift. The Cigar community is a big, lovable, happy and generous family and I am proud to be a part of it.

One of the discussions that keeps popping up between myself and my stateside BOTL is the Cuban vs Non-Cuban debate. I will totally agree that I have not sampled the best that NC Cigars have to offer. I have had some good and a lot of just OK. I probably have had only two that I would call bad, however, when I lit up a Cuban Fonseca No.1 during the week, which are probably the lower end Cuban Cigar, I noticed the difference straight away.

Cuban Cigars have a complexity that I have not found in NC Cigars. They may start of creamy / spicy / woody or whatever tastes but you can almost guarantee that there will be a different sensation by the time you finish. It is that complexity, that symphony of taste, that journey that the cigar takes you on, only in Cuban Cigars will you find it.

I was back on the Door on Friday and that put a halt to my cigar smoking. Irish weather is like the Irish women. You just don't know what to expect when you wake up in the morning. Friday was a wet, miserable day. I was standing on the door shivering in an overcoat and scarf. Saturday I was looking for Sun-cream.

Saturday was a long shift on the door as usual. The only thing that makes it seem shorter is the craic I have with Diamond Dave (who will from now on be known as Hollywood - another long story). Hollywood, was however, tired and grumpy on Saturday. Not the best combination when dealing with drunk people. A quick pint after work and I walked home. Once in the door I was greeted with a bag from James Fox that the Mrs had left out for me. What was inside really made my week.

A(n)? XIKAR Xi1 Silver Cutter. I was delighted. On that note I am off to use it for the first time. Now what will I have? Cuban or Non-Cuban?

CUBAN.