I went with family to an Aganorsa event at our local Cigars International. The indomitable and ever-altitudinous Terence Reilly was there, as is to be expected. My plan was to grab a few of the new JFR 20th Anniversary, some assorted Aganorsa sticks, smoke one or two and dip. My cohort wanted the new Supreme Leaf in the Gran Toro size.
We were showing up for Terence, really, and to support Aganorsa. We usually go to local events when they’re happening.
Unfortunately, they had none of what I mentioned in stock. In fact, they barely had half of Aganorsa’s SKUs, if that. No Rare Leaf Reserve Corojo, no Supreme Leaf, no Validacion series — just the Habano — no Cerberus or standard Guardian of the Farm. I can understand some of the new options, especially if they’re brand new and tough to find. But to have so much missing for a named event, that’s just unacceptable.
What they did have was very limited, and for an event running from 4 PM to 8 PM, frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ran out completely towards the end.
Sure, that’s usually par for the course with those corporate and sterile-style lounges. The cashier wasn’t particularly friendly, either. But it’s not wrong to expect just a little more. At the very least, they should have a much wider variety of the brand’s offerings when they’re having an event for that brand.
I don’t intend for this to be a Karen-style post where I drone on about negativities and, likely unsuccessfully, shame the store to do better. It wasn’t Aganorsa’s fault. In this case, it was the retailer’s.
If you’re going to support a brand, like Aganorsa, then support the damn brand. Don’t have the man show up and try to sell a bunch of singles from a handful of boxes. They didn’t have much on their actual shelves, either. If you’ve ever been to CI for an event, they usually have a front table in the walk-in humidor plus what’s on the shelves normally.
Switching gears, Terence was back to put some cigar newbies and locals through the beloved Fumas experience. If you’ve never done one before, it’s a lot of fun. They take individually wrapped cigar leaves like Criollo or Corojo, and have you smoke them separately. Then, you smoke them together to see how they complement the finished blends. It gives you a much better idea of how each of the tobacco types influence the flavors and experience.
Of course, Terence talks the entire time, walking you through it with his splendid animations and descriptors. Bonus points if you recognize the term “gusher,” from his vocabulary.
To end it on a high note, that’s always fun, and it’s always worth showing up. And the best part is he provides the Fumas supplies. You can usually spot him at events walking around with stacks of skinny cigars — skinnier than usual, anyway. I love that because it means everyone who wants to can participate.
I sat it out this time (by choice) and enjoyed watching everyone discuss it. My hope is that many of you reading this get to try it at some point, too, if you haven’t already.
As we were leaving, Terence handed us the new Supreme Leaf. You could say he saved the day.
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
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Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
