Sarge Reviews

There are cigars you smoke for their flavor. Others for their craftsmanship. Some become favorites because they deliver exactly what you expect, every single time. And then there are those rare cigars that take you somewhere you never intended to go. The Protocol Phoebe Couzins Maduro Toro did exactly that. What started …

There are certain sounds you expect when working on a boat. Water moving against the hull. A pump kicking on. Tools hitting the deck. Maybe a few choice words when a bolt refuses to cooperate. What you don’t expect is evidence that somebody else has been enjoying your boat while …

Some cigars are good. Some are excellent. Every once in a while, however, you light a cigar that catches you at precisely the right moment—and for the next hour or two, everything else becomes quiet. HOADU did that to me. I came into this cigar after a long, rough week. …

There are cigar names that feel like marketing, and then there are cigars that somehow find themselves in exactly the environment they were meant for. ADVentura Blackfin’s Parlay found me aboard The Reel Paws on a Saturday morning, cruising the Fort Lauderdale Intracoastal with Stacey beside me, Saber along for the adventure, …

There are cigars you buy because of the wrapper. There are cigars you chase because of the blender, the rarity, the reputation, or some ridiculous score printed beside the price tag. And then, every once in a great while, you choose a cigar for a completely ordinary reason—and life gives …

There are cigars you light because you have an hour to kill. Then there are cigars that somehow seem to arrive at exactly the right moment. The Room101 17th Anniversary was the latter. I had just finished working Saber at the park. It had been a productive session—sit, stay, recall, …

Before I lit the Dunbarton Sobremesa Tapa Negra, I had already made up my mind about the evening. It was my birthday. And in my opinion, birthdays are largely overrated. At fifty-four, they become less about candles and more about gratitude. Another lap around the sun. Another page on the …

Sunday evening, August 2nd. My birthday was only a few days away, and the South Florida heat had finally surrendered to a tolerable late-evening breeze. The pool lights cast their familiar glow across the water, creating ripples of blue and silver that danced across the lanai ceiling. The neighborhood was …

One of the privileges of home ownership is the constant battle against maintenance. There is always something that needs attention, something that needs fixing, cleaning, trimming, or improving. On Monday, July 27th, that responsibility belonged to the pool. The South Florida sun was already making its presence known as I …

There are evenings that ask for conversation, and there are evenings that ask for silence. This was one of those nights. The South Florida heat had finally surrendered to a gentle breeze as darkness settled over the backyard. The pool had transformed into a mirror of deep blue glass, illuminated …