Drinking TNCC Style
Who doesn’t like ninjas? I mean other than the dudes who are killed by ninjas, as they most likely hate(d) ninjas. Well, we here in The Corner Of No Hope love us some ninjas! And tonight that love, that passion for the hooded warriors, will be put to the ultimate test… the stakes have never been higher and you’re just going to have to click the links below to see how it all ends!
THE CIGAR – POWSTANIE CONNECTICUT CORONA GORDA “JUSTICE” by POWSTANIE CIGARS
Size: 5.5 x 46
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed
Binder: Pennsylvania broadleaf
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $13.50 (while these samples were submitted to the TNCC for review, you can go right now to FamousSmokeShop.com and grab a box that’s currently on sale and then on top of that discounted price use promo code TNCC20 to get an additional $20 off!)
Powstanie Cigars, a premium cigar brand created by the Szczepankiewicz brothers, is proud to announce the release of a new size for its Connecticut blend: the Corona Gorda. The new vitola, named “Justice”, is a tribute to the middle child of Mike Szczepankiewicz, the co-owner and master blender of Powstanie Cigars. The cigar was originally blended over 9 years ago for the birth of his son. At that time, there were only 100 cigars made. The original band said “ApolloDani” in blue and pink. Fast forward 9 years later and the entire Connecticut core line for Powstanie was created solely off that blend.
“When working with a factory, I highly recommend you work with a factory that actually keeps records of your blends from close to a decade ago and can recreate that blend to a T.” said Mike Szczepankiewicz co owner and harder-working brother of Powstanie Cigars. The cigar is handcrafted at the Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A. factory in Nicaragua, the same factory that produces the acclaimed RoMa Craft brand.
The Justice features a sweetness combined with a floral element on the cold draw, while the wrapper’s aroma is that of hay, grass, and other rodeo stuff (sans horseshit). Upon torching the foot, a mild pepper spice presents itself immediately but it’s nothing that’s going to kick the door down. After a few puffs, that pepper begins to linger in the nose and Tut commented that it was “quite nice” and “easy breezy”. Interestingly, Yak Boy found the spice to be much more powerful, so much so that his lips were tingling as a result. Weird. Cedar, café con leche (that’s coffee with equal parts milk added for all you unsophisticated boobs out there), and black tea all soon arise via the draw.
As the smoking experience continues, the truly distinct Nicaraguan mineral note that we’ve come to appreciate over the years makes its first appearance underneath the mild pepper and these components are playing very nicely with the cedar and coffee flavors down below. Tut reported that every now and then he got a hint of oatmeal raisin cookies by way of the retrohale which certainly sounds awesome. The Justice showcases excellent construction from start to finish with a near perfect draw and an impressive burn.
TNCC FINAL SCORE = 92
The overall profile of the Powstanie Connecticut Corona Gorda “Justice” really worked for all of us, even Tut who tends to lean towards smoking stronger cigars. Whereas we viewed the singular profile of last episode’s cigar as mostly a negative, the somewhat singular profile of tonight’s cigar works so well that we didn’t hesitate to give it three big thumbs up. If you have an opportunity to smoke the Justice for yourself we highly encourage you to do so!
THE BEERS
Once again folks, usually (before the mini apocalypse was thrust upon all of us in 2020) we would carefully – some of you have said “expertly” – pair our evening’s beer with the cigar and movie and we’d all sit around the table and drink that same beer and compare notes. But since the whole COVID-19 shitshow went down, 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… usually with very interesting results.
YAK BOY’S BEER – GOOD VIBES WEST COAST IPA by VOODOO BREWING COMPANY
Coming in at 7.3% ABV and a reported tongue-burning 85 IBUs (Yaks estimated it more in the 50-60 range), Yak Boy said the beer was very good and the “bodacious dank fruit notes” was an accurate description from the brewer. He also said it paired very well with tonight’s cigar as he was picking up a more aggressive pepper than the rest of us and the Good Vibe’s bold flavors balanced that spice quite well. As far as how this beer pairs with the Justice cigar of our Justice Ninja Style film… it simply doesn’t.
YAK BOY’S BEER PAIRING = F+
TUT’S BEER – KRISPYYY BOYYY AMERICAN PILSNER by SALOON DOOR BREWING
Way back on Episode 154 , Tut drank a different Crispy Boy beer and that became his nickname for a couple of weeks before we all drank enough to sadly forget about it. Tonight he’s back with a completely different Krispyyy Boyyy from a completely different brewer! Weird. This pilsner clocks in at 4.5% and Ø IBUS, and while Tut found it both krispyyy and refreshing, he found that this beer “lacked personality”. The Krispyyy Boyyy paired very well with tonight’s cigar so that’s always a plus. Tonight’s movie features several dudes with glorious mustaches much like the image on Tut’s beer can so that’s a pairing plus as well.
TUT’S BEER PAIRING GRADE = C-
THE DOCTOR’S BEER – HEFE HEFEWEIZEN by ALTSTADT BREWERY
This hefeweizen straight out of beautiful Fredericksburg, Texas follows Reinheitsgebot, the German Beer Purity Law, which only allows for malts, yeast, hops, and water to be used when brewing. The end result of that stringent law is a beer that just didn’t blow The Doctor’s skirt up. Tut chimed in that Altstadt’s light lager is one of his favorite beers so maybe Doc can pick up a can of that the next time he’s putting absolutely no thought in to pairing his drink selections with the show we’re doing.
THE DOCTOR’S BEER PAIRING GRADE = INCOMPLETE
CADE’S BEER – SUPER FUN! HAZY HOP! IPA by PAPERBACK BREWING COMPANY
This pricey four-pack from California promises to be “A hoppy love hug for your tongue!” and at 7.2% and 41 IBUs I found it to be a somewhat lackluster hug for the money spent. I’m about to that point to where if I’m going to spend over $20 on a 4-pack of beer, that beer better bring something special to the table. It’s a fine hazy but at that lofty price point… it needs to rise above “fine” to get me to return to it. Well, due to the head-scratching fact that there’s no actual Japanese actors in tonight’s ninja film, I decided to step up and provide the show with a beer can that features some Japanese text on it. I’m filling in the gaps, baby! Somebody had to something damnit and, per the usual, that somebody was me. Dou itashimashite! The Super Fun! Hazy Hop! did stay out of the way of my cigar so pairing-wise while the beer didn’t add to the smoking experience, it did not detract from it either.
CADE’S BEER PAIRING GRADE = A++
THE FIRE PIT
We cover a wide array of topics during tonight’s Fire Pit session including but not limited to:
I’m Just Here For The Riot (ESPN doc)
Godzilla Minus One (Netflix)
Atlas (Netflix)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Paramount+)
Under Paris (Netflix)
Something in the Water (VOD)
Hit Man (Netflix)
Evil (series, Paramount+)
THE FILM – JUSTICE NINJA STYLE (1985)
“For more than seven centuries the Art form
known as “Ninjitsu” has been handed down
from generation to generation. It continued
through the years as an unknown Art in the West,
and a highly feared Art in the East.
Right through WW 1 & 2 the legend of the “Ninja Warrior”
was though to be just that, a legend;
because of the tales of the impossible feats
reported by the local towns people.
Can the “Ninja” really disappear, climb sheer cliffs,
defeat numerous enemies at a time, fly through the air
or change his appearance like a chameleon?
We may never know, because the “Ninja Warrior” has
become extinct…
UNTIL NOW!!!
After some pretty cool retro production company logos come and go, we’re treated to an aerial shot of downtown Desoto, Missouri with a title card: “Justice Ninja Style” in a stylish Three’s Company inspired font. And by aerial shot I mean it was filmed with a camcorder from a rooftop, no helicopters were involved at any point in the production of this film – and that’s totally okay.
You see, folks, tonight’s film was shot on home camcorders or professional video cameras that would have been used in news reporting back this time. Or both most likely. These opening credit shots had me a little worried that we were in store for all muddied VHS camcorder visuals (like it was shot through wax paper) but it does get better soon after. And I do respect how they owned it with pride – “Videography by Marty Reider”. This is a very low budget affair BUT I really appreciated the city of Desoto, Missouri getting behind this shot-on-videotape homegrown production. We’ll see fire trucks racing around later, a jail cell location, the local government supported this flick in a lot of big ways and that’s very very cool. Especially considering the movie portrays the local police department as a haven for murderous rapists…
I’m not going to say anything more about Justice Ninja Style here on this episode page; however, we do say a whole lot more about it per the usual on the podcast so click the links below and soak in the conversation TNCC Style!
THE NUB
Sayonara Motherfuckers!
Y’all need to remember that real gangsta-ass podcasters don’t flex nuts ‘cause real gangsta-ass podcasters know they got ’em. Having said that, 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.
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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