Tonight’s movie is way more Com than Rom, just look at us laughing our drunken asses off!
Tonight’s show felt very good when we were recording it and, after soaking it in for a week or so now, I feel confident saying this – EPISODE 135 MIGHT JUST BE OUR BEST EPISODE EVER. I knew I was taking a gamble when I selected the film Destination Wedding but, for once, that gamble paid off. Don’t believe me? Just click the links below to watch or listen and JOIN THE FUCKING PARTY!!!
THE CIGAR – MORTAL COIL by CAO
Size: 6 1/8 x 50 (toro)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Connecticut Shade
Filler: Dominican Andullo surrounded by Honduran Jamastran, Nicaraguan Estelí, and Dominican Piloto Cubano
Price: $10.99 (and please remember when purchasing some fine CAO cigars or other brands from FamousSmokeShop.com to use your new favorite promo code TNCC20 at checkout where it will knock $20 off your purchase of $100 or more)
CAO is launching a new series called “Arcana” which will highlight the secrets and traditions of old-world tobacco processing methods, passed down from generation to generation to bring out the best in native tobaccos from across the globe. The first release in the CAO Arcana series is called “Mortal Coil,” a single cigar that resurrects “Andullo”, the oldest tobacco fermentation method of the Dominican Republic. Andullo tobacco is made following the time-honored methods of cultivation and curing sungrown Habano-seed tobaccos. Instead of traditional bulk fermentation, Andullo tobacco is wrapped tightly in handcrafted palm tree pods known as “yaguas” that are compressed with rope coiled around the pod. This old-world process of fermentation takes approximately two years and transforms the tobacco into rough, leathery-looking leaves with a characteristically thick texture and earthy sweetness.
The Mortal Coil’s band is unique with the sharp, nicely contrasting black and copper. The aroma coming off the foot of this cigar is rich with juicy sweetness and mint, while the rustic wrapper itself gives off the smell of milk chocolate. Not a bad start before we’ve even lit this sonofabitch on fire. The cold draw (or as drunk Tut called it tonight “the dry inhale”) reveals a berry presence and I even got a flavor reminiscent of fruit cake which is a first. Upon ignition there’s a very heavy mineral component right out of the gate on the draw and it’s balanced with just a touch of earth, while a very sharp blast of black pepper spice lit up our nostrils.
As the smoking experience continues, a dry cracker note arises to party with the earth and mineral on the draw. A toasty element begins coming through via the retrohale as well. Construction has been top notch so far, the ash is a little flakey but it holds on admirably. My only complaint with this cigar is that the attractive band is seamless and I had no choice but to rip it off the cigar like a barbarian as the burn line approached.
The warm yet crisp mineral is so dominant on both the draw and the retrohale, it’s easily the star of the show. That mineral compliments the earth and toast flavors very well. In the final third, Yak Boy even picked up a dark chocolate note on the draw as well (I’m highly jealous that Tut and myself didn’t pick up on that). While we wished that there was more of the hinted-at sweetness, the pepper spice did make a much welcomed resurgence through the nose at the last minute (as I was hoping it would) and I think I’m safe in saying that everything the Mortal Coil delivered worked very well as a whole.
TNCC FINAL GRADE = 88
THE BEERS
Once again folks, usually (before this mini apocalypse was thrust upon all of us) we would carefully – some of you have said “expertly” – pair our evening’s beer with the cigar and movie and we’d all drink that same beer and compare notes. But since this whole COVID-19 shitshow has happened, each member of the TNCC is now solely responsible for risking their lives out in the wild and acquiring their own beers for each episode…
YAK BOY’S BEER – HAZY MEMORY IPA by LAGUNITAS BREWING
At 8% ABV and 55 IBUs, Yaks enjoyed this hop-heavy, floral beer quite a bit. While the beer didn’t interfere with tonight’s cigar at all, it stayed in its own lane, the Hazy Memory IPA ended up complimented the Mortal Coil very well. So Yaks thought he could pick a California beer and that would get him a good pairing score because tonight’s film takes place in San Luis Obispo, California. Even though his brewery of choice is located almost five hours away from San Luis Obispo. Nice try, Yak Boy. YAK BOY’S PAIRING GRADE: C-
THE DOCTOR’S BEER – THE BRIGHT WHITE by BELL’S BREWERY
At 5% and 25 IBUs, this beer is a mellow ride from start to finish. And while The Doctor wasn’t able to smoke with us tonight, he felt it would be a peaceful playmate to any cigar he might smoke in the future. And while Tut brought up the possible pairing points that are certainly present, there are wedding BELLS in our film and the movie’s entire cast is white people, The Doctor shamefully admitted that he considered none of those things when selecting this beer from his local grocer. THE DOCTOR’S PAIRING GRADE: D-
TUT’S BEER – MAN CHEETAH HAZY IPA by RED HORN BREWERY
At 6.8% and 60 IBUs, this hazy concoction really brings a citrus-forward profile to the party that Tut enjoyed. While he felt that the beer could’ve been benefited from more hop bitterness, after a few pints he wasn’t complaining much. And, yes, our film does have a wild cat in it but it is NOT a cheetah by any stretch of the imagination. TUT’S PAIRING GRADE: B-
CADE’S BEER – ONE LOVE IMPERIAL IPA by SPINDLETAP BREWERY
I’ve finally found a New England style IPA that I like, hot damn! This dense, 8%, citrus forward (orange and grapefruit) bad boy is highly enjoyable and it’s remarkably smooth. And the sweetness from that thick, viscous citrus flavor brings out some of the sweet elements in the cigar that were only hinted at on the cold draw. Because my beer complimented the cigar AND the movie so well… CADE’S PAIRING GRADE: A+
THE FILM – DESTINATION WEDDING (2018)
The hilarious irony in the movie poster above is that neither of those characters ever smile in tonight’s film! Destination Wedding pisses all over the Romantic Comedy Rulebook and we here at the TNCC love things that piss all over the rules. The film is written and directed by Victor Levin. Mr. Levin was born in 1961 in New York, he had a traditional upbringing in the suburbs, and attended Amherst College. I couldn’t find any info on whether he was ever married (doubtful after watching this movie) or whether he had committed suicide over the last three years (highly probable after watching this movie). But maybe, possibly, he’s just a very creative dude who can write material outside of his own personal experiences – I mean George Lucas never actually met a wookie or a fucking Jawa before he wrote Star Wars so I guess anything is possible…
This movie isn’t what you’re programmed to think it is…
And that’s all I’m going to say here on this episode page, perhaps I’ve already said too much. As always, you’re just going to have to click the links below to get our full thoughts on this special movie. Trust me, you won’t regret it and you’ll have a great fucking time. DO IT NOW!!!
THE NUB
Please leave us comments on the YouTube episode page and subscribe while you’re there, provide us with a review on iTunes, or be a real stud and do both! All these seemingly small gestures would be greatly appreciated as they let us know exactly what you’re thinking about this sweat-soaked tidal wave of hardbodied insanity we like to call The Tuesday Night Cigar Club.
Sayonara Motherfuckers!!!
Below is tonight’s full episode for both your viewing and listening pleasure. Thank you for checking out The Tuesday Night Cigar Club and we’ll see you next time when we review another cigar, adult beverage, and film. May the wings of liberty never lose a feather…
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