So, since Brickhouse educated me on the rarity of these puppies, I have been looking for them as I travel.
I was in Nashville on Saturday picking up the new car and decided to stop by the B&M close by. They carry many super premium brands (AF, OPUS X, Tatuaje, Davidoff, LFD, etc..) - most at MSRP, some barely over, and even some below. I didn't see any Anejos in the humidor. I though "Damn, I missed them". I had picked up a couple while I was in Texas last week and Brick told me that they do not last long after a shop gets them.
Well I asked the owner and he said that he hadn't received his yet. He expected them to arrive within the week. Since it is only a 45 min trip for me, I planned to go back down sometime during the week. My first opportunity was today. I got there and headed straight for the humi. I searched and searched, but no Sharks, no Anejos at all. I am now thinking "Maybe they haven't arrived yet". So I ask. The answer - "Came in yesterday. Sold the last one about an hour ago". He shows me the empty box. I notice the price tag....$9.75. Life sucks at this point.
Determined not to leave empty handed, I went back to browsing the humi. Within a few minutes, I spot these. I had just read about them on Moki's page this morning. I was thinking that my luck had begun to change. I had come across a, somewhat, rare smoke (only 200 boxes total). 2 boxes sitting there in front of me - at less than MSRP for the regular Noellas ($6.70 ea). I grabbed all that was left in the opened box (10).
I continued to browse and chat with the owner. He remembered that I had been in Saturday looking for Anejos. He felt bad that he only received 2 boxes and I missed out by an hour. He said that he had another rare smoke that he does not keep out on the visible shelves. He told me that it was about as rare as the Sharks and he would sell me one of them. So he gets out a ladder and reaches up to the top shelf and pulls down a partial box of Hemingway Between the Lines. I don't know how rare they really are, since I am far from a Fuente expert. The little guy on my shoulder was telling me that I was about to be taken for a ride and he was going to sell me some smokes that he couldn't get rid of on his regular customers. The guy on my other shoulder was saying "This may be exactly as he says it is and you will kick yourself later if you don't bite now".
So now I have 10 Tatuaje Noella Reservas and a AF Hemingway BTL. Oh, you probably want to know what he was charging for the BTL.... $14.
I continued to browse and chat. I saw a special display humi that was full of all sorts of Davidoffs. I asked if they lived up to all the hype I have read. He said that they did. I was thinking that If I am being suckered, I might as well go all they way. So I end up with a Special "R" ($13.50) and a Millennium PC($9.00). I decided to stay and smoke the PC there. It was rather tasty, so I picked up 2 more to take home.
So did I get screwed? Or was any of this actually a good deal?
I was in Nashville on Saturday picking up the new car and decided to stop by the B&M close by. They carry many super premium brands (AF, OPUS X, Tatuaje, Davidoff, LFD, etc..) - most at MSRP, some barely over, and even some below. I didn't see any Anejos in the humidor. I though "Damn, I missed them". I had picked up a couple while I was in Texas last week and Brick told me that they do not last long after a shop gets them.
Well I asked the owner and he said that he hadn't received his yet. He expected them to arrive within the week. Since it is only a 45 min trip for me, I planned to go back down sometime during the week. My first opportunity was today. I got there and headed straight for the humi. I searched and searched, but no Sharks, no Anejos at all. I am now thinking "Maybe they haven't arrived yet". So I ask. The answer - "Came in yesterday. Sold the last one about an hour ago". He shows me the empty box. I notice the price tag....$9.75. Life sucks at this point.
Determined not to leave empty handed, I went back to browsing the humi. Within a few minutes, I spot these. I had just read about them on Moki's page this morning. I was thinking that my luck had begun to change. I had come across a, somewhat, rare smoke (only 200 boxes total). 2 boxes sitting there in front of me - at less than MSRP for the regular Noellas ($6.70 ea). I grabbed all that was left in the opened box (10).
I continued to browse and chat with the owner. He remembered that I had been in Saturday looking for Anejos. He felt bad that he only received 2 boxes and I missed out by an hour. He said that he had another rare smoke that he does not keep out on the visible shelves. He told me that it was about as rare as the Sharks and he would sell me one of them. So he gets out a ladder and reaches up to the top shelf and pulls down a partial box of Hemingway Between the Lines. I don't know how rare they really are, since I am far from a Fuente expert. The little guy on my shoulder was telling me that I was about to be taken for a ride and he was going to sell me some smokes that he couldn't get rid of on his regular customers. The guy on my other shoulder was saying "This may be exactly as he says it is and you will kick yourself later if you don't bite now".
So now I have 10 Tatuaje Noella Reservas and a AF Hemingway BTL. Oh, you probably want to know what he was charging for the BTL.... $14.
I continued to browse and chat. I saw a special display humi that was full of all sorts of Davidoffs. I asked if they lived up to all the hype I have read. He said that they did. I was thinking that If I am being suckered, I might as well go all they way. So I end up with a Special "R" ($13.50) and a Millennium PC($9.00). I decided to stay and smoke the PC there. It was rather tasty, so I picked up 2 more to take home.
So did I get screwed? Or was any of this actually a good deal?
