Good Life Diaries

Cigar Dinners are becoming more and more popular... and the concept of the "in-store" dinner is also gaining popularity around the country. Now I don't know for SURE, but I'm pretty damn sure we were among the very first to seat 50 people for dinner inside a cigar shop. It was with Ashton in early January of 2005... and Tony and Manny Ferraro of Ashton were on hand for it. In fact, they came by yesterday and we were reminiscing about that event and how far we've come since then! Of course we always host big dinners... all the time. Whether in the Madison Avenue store, downtown at Bayard's (like we have coming up on the 8th of the month), at Rothmann's Steakhouse... one thing we know how to do is throw a big bash. But, at our Columbus Circle store, we've gone the other direction and embraced the idea of a more intimate event. For our second "Columbus Circle Dinner", last night, we featured Camacho Cigars. We began in the store's lounge ...

I don't know where to begin. It was the fifth year for my annual Birthday Bash/Fundraiser for my old High School... and for the fifth year in a row, the incredible generosity of all my friends blows me away! The event was Monday, May 4, 2009, at The Carnegie Club in New York City to benefit Killingly High School’s Learning for Life Fund. A couple buddies from the Soprano’s cast, Tony Darrow and Arthur Nascarella stopped in to lend a hand, as well as entertainment reporter Bill McCuddy (formerly of Fox News). We also had on hand visits from The CAO Boys (Huber, Kapp, Faccenda), the ENTIRE Quesada family (MATASA, Fonseca, Cubita, Casa Magna, etc...), CigarTV.com, Keith Park (Prometheus), Peter Banninger (President, Davidoff USA), Karen Lee and Jim Galle (S.T. Dupont), Savona, Mottola and Abrams from Cigar Aficionado, Roberta from Graycliff, the staff from BOTH Davidoff stores and the De La Concha folks... blah blah... the list goes on and on... and it was amazing!!! We raised money t...

Don Fernando Leon Asensio , patriarch of the Leon Family, died yesterday afternoon in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The Leon Family are the makers of La Aurora and Leon Jimenes Cigars as well owners of Presidente Beer and a number of other businesses. But, more importantly they're just wonderful people. I've had the pleasure of spending time with Don Fernando on several occasions , both in New York and in the Dominican Republic. I remember the first time I met him. Probably 2002 or 2003... He walked into the Madison Avenue store wearing his classic green fedora w/ a feather in the band (first time I ever saw him) and he was smoking a Leon Jimenes cigar... corona shaped, but with a Cameroon wrapper. I asked if I could help him, having no idea who he was... and he asked "Do you sell this cigar?" I said "No, I'm sorry we don't". He looked surprised and said, "YOU DONT ? I thought you carried Leon Jimenes !?" I said, "We do, but you ask...

So, every yea r I host a big birthday bash with cigars, raffles, auctions, etc... to help raise money for my old high school. It's a small town public school tha t's funded by a very limited education budget financed by generous taxpayers on fixed incomes. This past year has been incredibly challenging for them to maintain programs, and even provide adequate resources like computers. They were only able to do so because of the funding my event generates. The Killingly High School "Learning for Life" Fund directly supports the "Career Pathways" program and "School to Career" program that helps in the transition from high school to the next step in these young peoples' lives, whether further education or directly into a trade. http://www.killingly.k12.ct.us/index.php?show=KHS&sub=112&content=86999112 This is my FIFTH one of these!!! We started in 2005 raising $2,500, then about $5,000 in 2006, $8,000 in 2007 and last year just $32,500 th...

So yesterday the Columbus Circle store was closed for the day to perform our annual Physical Inventory. (We were closed for an entire weekend at the Madison Avenue store earlier in the month for the same thing). It was a long long day of counting and recounting, organizing, stressing... but finally when it was all over everything came out ok. As is tradition for us... after a big day, we all stick around to enjoy a celebratory cigar and beverage. Last night was no exception! I had a bottle of Chivas Regal 12 year old that I had received as a gift upon my original appointment to GM of the CC store back in May of 2006. We ran down to Whole Foods market for some Bubbly Waters and Crostini to munch on. I left the cigar selection to Kevin Threat , our Assistant Manager. "I got a taste for a Small Batch", Kevin said. Now, the Litto Gomez Small Batch is a monstrous cigar. This was the first "Small Batch", using only tobaccos from 2002. Currently on our shelves is the ...

On Monday, March 16, 2009, over sixty cigar enthusiasts joined us at the Madison Avenue store to celebrate Avo Uvezian's 83rd Birthday. In his signature white Brioni Suit and straw hat, Avo was his gracious enthusiastic self, signing boxes of his brand new Avo Companeros and posing for pictures. An incredible dinner was prepared and served by our dear friends and neighbors at Rothmann's Steakhouse and paired with wines selected by Andrew Bell , President of the American Sommelier Association. This was the very first time the Avo Uvezian 2009 Limited Edition Companeros had been smoked by the general public. More details on the cigar are below! Here are a few pics from the night: The Tables are set... Avo spending time with guests... Eddy Simon ( Avo Brand Manager), Avo Uvezian , Michael Herklots (General Manager, Davidoff New York City) Joseph Bollo , Avo Uvezian , Ruth Bollo Avo Uvezian and Paul Chapman Ibrahim Amer ( Davidoff @ Madison) and Elena Baenninge...