From: James Taranto <?????????????????>
Subject: A great Thanksgiving

Several of my friends feel sorry for me because I'm spending Thanksgiving
alone, as my family lives in California and I live in New York.  They
don't know what a good Thanksgiving is.  I'm sitting here watching the
Dallas-Miami game with the sound down, I've got a Beethoven symphony going
on the stereo, and... I'm enjoying my first Cuban Cohiba.

Actually, it's a Canadian Cohiba, one of several I purchased on a trip to
Toronto three months ago.  The Havana House on Cumberland was having some
sort of charity benefit, and had a Cuban roller making Cohibas on the
premises, which were being sold for bargain prices: C$5 (about $4) for a
corona, C$10 for a robusto, C$15 for a Churchill.  I bought four of the
coronas and one robusto, which have been sitting in my humidor since.

I'm smoking a corona (actually a nonstandard size, 38x6", half an inch
short of what they call a Corona Especial).  It's very tasty and
full-bodied, but not harsh like some cheaper Cuban cigars.  It's a
wonderful accompaniment to a Canadian beer (LaBatt Blue, purchased at the
duty-free shop on the same trip).

My father has severe asthma and doesn't allow smoking in his house, so
it's a real treat for me *not* to spend Thanksgiving with the family.

By the way, there's a Dominican Cohiba on the market now, available at
Dunhill shops among other places.  Like the Dominican Montecristo that was
recently introduced, it's a pale imitation of the real thing from Havana.

Cheers,
James Taranto  ?????????????????

[ Hope the others had similarly happy Thanksgivings! -S. ]


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