Cigar Review: CAO La Traviata Intrepido

I don’t regularly smoke CAO’s, but the La Traviata Intrepido may have changed this prejudice.

When I walked into the humidor, I was looking for something reasonably priced with a medium-bodied taste. I read that the La Traviata Divino had recently made the Cigar Aficionado Top 25 list for 2010 (it ranked in at #15). The Divino appeared a tad too short for the length of time I was looking to smoke, so I decided to spend a little more and picked up the Intrepido.

It was a great choice. This stick has a simple, medium-bodied taste that consistently hints of milky coffee and chocolate flavors. The blend of the Nicaraguan and Dominican filler is surprisingly delicious, and it’s further complimented by a traditional-looking Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The ash is a bit too lite, especially at the start; you’d be smart to keep an ashtray at your side while smoking this particular stick. Yet the weakness of the ash, which I usually associate with a poorly constructed cigar, doesn’t seem to impact the overall enjoyment. In fact, I was rather surprised about how a cigar that loses its ash so frequently could stay lit for so long (required only one re-light).

This selection gains a lot of kudos for its consistency in taste; even as it reaches its coda, the Intrepido maintains its smooth, medium-bodied flavor.

For a cigar of its size, taste and consistency, the La Traviata Intrepido is a great choice and a true bargain for the smoker on a budget.

-Mike Worley

Cigar Review: Casa Magna Colorado Churchill

I’m the type of smoker that enjoys a cigar when the taste is great from the very beginning. That’s precisely what you get when you smoke the Casa Magna Colorado Churchill.

The taste is very medium bodied, with a touch of spice that I commonly find in Nicaraguan tobacco. Yet as the cigar begins to burn, about a quarter in, a stronger taste begins to unfold. Isn’t too intense, but the stronger flavor definitely takes the cigar in a new direction; it begins to taste less like a Pardon and more like a milder La Flor Dominicana.

The draw is a bit tighter than other Nicaraguan brands, but in no way is it too constricted. This stick finds a major strength in its construction: the well-oiled dark wrapper burns evenly and holds a good ash. Its texture is significantly smoother, and seemingly tighter, than the Nicaraguan cigars I typically smoke, yet this ends up being a major plus.

As it burns towards the end, the flavor becomes even stronger, yet the flavorful transition from medium to full is smooth and enjoyable.

I’d highly recommend this cigar after a hearty, spice-filled meal.

All-in-all, the Casa Magna Colorado Churchill is a great smoke at a great price.

Charlie's BIG ANNOUNCEMENT will NOT be Meek dropping out.

Mark Halperin has an article on his Time Magazine blog, the Page, about Charlie Crist's "Big Announcement" tomorrow morning. You can see the post here.

I hate to deflate the excitement, but I highly doubt this announcement will say anything about Meek stepping aside, or Crist deciding to caucus with the dems, or anything like that.

Crist's announcement will most likely be an endorsement from Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson, the "Godfather of Palm Beach County."

Aaronson has major sway over the democratic voters in the retirement villages in Palm Beach. His district doesn't represent a single municipality, but rather an association of communities in the southwestern portion of the County. The voters in these communities are typically retirees from the northeast, and are also predominantly jewish.

An endorsement of Crist from Aaronson has long been expected. Recently, Kendrick Meek scheduled a meeting with Aaronson to discuss a possible endorsement, only to cancel early yesterday after discovering that Aaronson was going to ask Kendrick to drop out (a request made by several prominent Democratic Club leaders in PBC who Aaronson works with closely).

Aaronson's endorsement is good for Crist only if it inspires other democratic leaders to ask Meek to step out of the race.

Is the Rubio/Media love-fest over?

Last week, at Marco Rubio’s largest encounter with the Florida Press Corps to date, the Former Speaker hit his biggest roadblock yet: tough questions. Rubio was showered with pointed, timely inquires that he either deflected or answered with ambiguity. This could be incredibly harmful to the Rubio campaign.

As polls begin to show Rubio as the front-runner, the media will no longer treat him with the flirtatious flattery that he has been granted since he began his "David v. Goliath" campaign early last year. If Rubio is going to maintain this incredible amount of momentum, he’s going to have to steal a page out of Governor Charlie Crist’s playbook: How to deal with the Press.

Crist, who has been in a real slump for the past few months, is beginning to emerge… at least that’s what the media is saying. There’s a real question as to whether the Press is finally returning to the warm embrace of Crist’s charm; a charm that has gotten him elected consistently since 1998. With Crist being a master of the PR arts, will Rubio’s media faux paux give the Governor the juice he needs to stand a public relations come-back? With over $7 million on-hand, Crist can work a lot of magic.

South Floridians ask: “Alex Sink…who is he?”

On January 18th, 2010, hundreds of people lined various city streets throughout Florida to celebrate Martin Luther King’s Day with jubilant parades and festivities. Miami’s NW 54thStreet was no exception. Amongst the crowd were multiple Miami-Dade Young Democrats, assisting with one of the parade’s most important attendees: Florida CFO and Gubernatorial Candidate Alex Sink. As the parade started, and Sink’s signs were being seen by the crowd, several shouted “Where is he?”

This common confusion over Mrs. Sink’s unisex first-name is a slightly funny, yet poignant example as to why her campaign must focus on building name recognition, and quickly. Last Wednesday’s Quinnipiac poll, showing the CFO ten points behind Florida’s Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum is only a part of the bad news for the Sink Campaign; the devil, it seems, is in the details: 68% of likely voters said they didn’t know enough about Alex Sink to form an opinion. Compare that to McCollum’s 48%. Believe it or not, Sink’s name recognition was actually greater in 2009 than it is now, with only 59% of voters saying they didn’t know enough about the CFO on November 19th. On top of that, McCollum leads Sink amongst female voters by 8 points.

Perhaps the most important issue with Sink is her complete lack of name recognition in South Florida. The Quinnipiac Poll showed that 67% of Southeast Floridians didn’t know enough about her; in Southwest Florida, the number is even larger- a staggering 74%!

If Sink is to raise her name recognition and her points in State-wide polls, she must begin hitting the pavement in South Florida. This midterm election, as such elections have been historically, will be marked by low voter turn-out, especially by Democrats. The largest congregation of Democrats in the State is South Florida. Sure, South Floridian Democrats who go to the polls will vote for Sink over McCollum purely because of the (D) next to her name; yet Sink’s issue isn’t whether likely Democratic voters will choose her over McCollum, it’s whether Democrats will go to the polls at all. Sink has to get out the vote, and that’s going to require some major ground work.

Sink has run a solid campaign thus far. She is an experienced candidate, and her business expertise will definitely help her win the majority voters who are concerned about the economy and unemployment; yet none of this will matter unless she can communicate efficiently with the electorate, and communicate early. Until then, likely voters will still be asking, “AlexSink… who is he?”

FL Senate Race: Don't believe [all] the hype.

[Update as of 1:40pm]: Crist posts 2mil, Rubio 1.75mil. Crist has 7.5mil cash-on-hand... quite the war chest.

In Florida’s US Senate race, Former House Speaker Marco Rubio has surpassed Governor Charlie Crist in the most recent poll conducted by Quinnipiac, 47-44. Many neo-conservatives are jumping for joy; many Democrats are shaking in fear.

For the love of God, stop and calm down!

First of all: Charlie Crist is running a near-$6million operation. There are a whole host of donors and bundlers that are deeply invested in the Governor’s success. Because Charlie was such an assumed front-runner, many of these donors are probably nontraditional; they are the ones who only like to bet on sure things. As Crist becomes less and less of a sure thing, expect the tone of this campaign to become very nasty, very fast. The campaigns are both still in the fundraising phase, but that time will soon expire. Within the next few months, I predict things will begin to heat up, fast.

Furthermore, people are forgetting how talented Charlie Crist can be, in terms of dealing with the electorate. He has a magical charm. As long as Crist continues to get out and meet the voters, face-to-face, he stands a chance at regaining on Rubio without having to tear the entire campaign down with dirty tactics and trench-warfare.

Secondly: I’m sick of hearing Democrats complain about Kendrick Meek’s campaign. Early on in this primary season, Democratic leaders had the choice of Senate candidates: Congressman Meek (D-17) or State Senator Dan Gelber. The party leadership decided that Gelber wasn’t their man.

Dumb decision. Dan Gelber, advised by such Democratic strategists as Steve Schale, would have been a far superior candidate amongst a field of competitors like we currently see. Gelber’s voice would have brought enthusiasm to the Left, and would have fired up the base. Gelber is running for Attorney General now, and his front-runner status means he’s locked in; no turning back.

Meek’s best shot right now is to fundraise, fundraise, fundraise; and then wait. Hopefully, for Meek and the Democrats, Crist will let fire rain from the political sky on Marco Rubio’s “movement.” Rubio will respond, in kind.
Is it possible that these two political rock stars will destroy each other’s worlds, thus handing the Senate seat to Meek? Highly unlikely.

Meek has thus run a very poor campaign. He has changed leadership multiple times, most recently removing his Field Director. At this point, such leadership changes seem like the moving of deck chairs on the Titanic (after it hit the iceberg). On top of that, Meek has been destroying his bank account; however, it must be noted that such spending practices have seen a significant curb with the leadership of Abe Dyk.

Meek raised 1.2 million in the last quarter… decent, by most standards, but below-average for a race like this. The Representative is an excellent public servant, a good father and a pleasant human being, yet he has let his campaign be run as if they were front-runners in an uncontested general election. Meek has had offices all over the State for months now; Rubio only recently opened his second.

Ultimately, the hype on both sides has deluded the reality of this campaign. Rubio still has a long way to go; Crist has not yet begun to fight. They still have a solid seven months of tearing at each other’s throats. Meanwhile, who knows? Maybe Meek will fundraise better, secure a leadership hierarchy within his campaign that works, and focus on sharpening his message. If Rubio and Crist end their primary bloodied and bruised, Meek may stand a chance. It will require a lot of money, and a lot of volunteer hours: two things Florida Democrats are saving for Sink, Gelber, or Aronberg.