Rafael Gonzalez in Cologne

 What an incredible mild Winter we are having – even the higher altitudes forests are devoid of snow as we sped through the Hunsrück region aka German Siberia and it was still 3 C.

Speeding is right, as we did the 200 km ride in hardly 90 minutes and even faster on return.

Having Andreas along and chatting about all and sundry made the ride quick.

In fact we had almost finished our Rafael Gonzalez ER Alemania Petit Piramide by the time a grinning Frank came down the stairs into Peter Heinrich’s Speakeasy lounge at the Cologne LCDH.

It truly has a Speakeasy atmosphere to it now that smoking is not allowed upstairs anymore – a shame.

We had just entered the Humidor when we saw an opened intact box of the new RG ER. The friendly staff remarked : Guys, you’re lucky, we just got a load of them 30 minutes ago.

OK, so the first box went into our hands for a try.

Boxing Code ALT OCT 13 – nothing “Alt” or old about this stick, it was a very nice Colorado rojo wrapper ( the opened box had lighter wrapper colour ), very tasty cold draw, perfect construction and burn and … we remarked half a dozen times in that hour how good it was.

Remarked also about this phenomenon since ’04/’05 and what it means for long term aging.

Anyway, the decision to hoard the recently arrived “load of boxes” was made even before Frank, the “Big Hoarder”, arrived.

He was grinning and holding his RG stick, pleasantly surprised to see Andreas ( I had kept him a mystery guest ) and proceeded to praise his RG ER – we had arrived at a consensus.

And he was kind enough to get on the phone and order some QdO France Belicoso ER boxes for Andreas. On his last visit to a “Habanos Specialist” in France, when asking for Quay d’Orsay he received the reply that it was an address in Paris .. when he replied : No, they are Cuban cigars for France, he was told : Monsieur, all the cigars are Cubans …

Before leaving Pitter’s LCDH we made sure 15 boxes were put away – fuck the latecomers and a happy middle finger salute to all the cheap Charlies and : “it’s too expensive quaking frogs” and other assorted whiners, tossers and wankers.

We had our first Pub visit, Kölsch and 2 pieces of tasty Mettbrötchen to give ourselves a little basis for further cigars before walking back to Pitter’s for more coffee, rum for Andreas and a round of 2010 RA ER Alemania Piramides thrown in by Frank, my soon-to-be-again-house-mate-in-Havana.

Nothing to talk, brief or discuss about the trip anymore – it will be like last year’s trip, just more to ourselves, less group, no Festival circus at all whatsoever, fuck that too, and a few events we really look forward too.

That out of the way we remarked how the RG outperformed the RA ( I’m a RA lover ).

Regrettably the fine Trattoria Stella was closed so we adjourned back to Gertrudenhof for more Kölsch and a very tasty dinner.

It was back to Pitter’s LCDH and my contribution of Partagas Lusitania Gran Reserva.

Well, that cigar truly rock and rolls, or rather, it’s a perfect symphony.

Both Frank, Andreas and I have by now smoked enough of these babies to know that they are from a perfect breeding background and have serious power, elegance and fortitude to last.

Halfway through the cigar we were kicked out as they now close earlier, so we simply put the P L GR into our tubos, hugged a farewell and see you soon and departed.

Having a napping Andreas as a co-pilot I could concentrate better and drive faster, so hardly over an hour later we were back in the village pub smoking off our Partagas Gran Reserva, listening to Rammstein and Böse Onkelz and having our Roseschorle.

A truly very delightful half day in Cologne.

Nino