My first box of Ramon Allones Specially Selected (a.k.a. buying cigars on the Internet)

I decided to indulge myself with a box of fine cigars for X'mas this year. Since I have moved to Hong Kong and cigars are kind of expensive over there (yes, it's true), I ordered my box on the Internet from a Swiss website that a Friend had recommanded to me.
It's always tricky to buy cigars on the web, since there are so many fakes on the market... A very good deal can rapidly turn into a true nightmare...
I can only recommand to you www.topcubans.com which really offers a good service, and guarantees the authenticity of its goods. The box of 25 Ramon Allones Specially Selected I bought was delivered very rapidly, in very good conditions (vacuum-sealed), and at a fair price. For sure, they are genuine !

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See all the pictures on my Flickr Account.

Salary survey: marketing industries in China

A quick post about business (it's been a while!).

I just read this interesting survey about salaries in mainland China (it only covers the marketing industries (i.e. my field))... It's always interesting to have some benchmarks anyway. I have ordered a free copy of the whole study (which apparently covers other markets / fields); I'll put that online ASAP.

Meanwhile just follow this link.

Romeo Y Julieta Short Churchill

For a start it is a beautiful cigar ! I bought it in its white and red tube, only to discover a superb cigar in it : majestuous wrapper, gracious double ring : one R&J in red, the other pure gold bearing "Short Churchill".

All right now, so what is a short Churchill ? Contrary to what one may think, it is not only shorter than a regular Churchill (124 mm vs. 178 mm) but suprisingly thicker than its bigger brother (ring 50 vs. ring 47 for the regular Churchill). So... marketing aside, and let's call a cat a cat : it is a Robusto !

The one I tried had a pretty good draw, though probably lacked a bit of panache at the beginning. In its second and third tier, this cigar revealed itself, with rich flavours now becoming obvious : honey, spices, and a light woody something at the top of it... It could not help but remind me of the original one. I did enjoy this smoke !

Brand : Romeo y Julieta
Origin : Cuba
Format : Robusto (a.k.a. Short Churchill)
Rating : A? or AA? gotta smoke more to tell you ;-) (please refer to my Cigar Rating Chart)