The luxury of taste

This past summer I visited Sicily for the first time. I had never been in what is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, but all I can say is that a visit is well worth it. Beautiful scenery with great food and weather... what more can you ask for on a vacation?

One of the reason for going to Sicily was to join an event organised by Aleksandar Markovic, founder of the Cigars and Professional Group on Linkedin (see here). The event name was  already very appealing (the Luxury of Taste) and promised good food, drinks but above all, for me at least, cigars. 

The event was organised at the San Domenico Palace Hotel, a former monastery with an amazing view overlooking the sea, a beautiful cloister (perfect for cigar smoking) and impeccable service, thanks to Aleksandar and his team, including Gaetano, Claudia, Enrico, Claudio, Pasquale (I certainly have forgotten somebody but thanks anyways to anybody that made the event possible!) 

Amongst the great food (courtesy of the resident Michelin-star chef Massimo Mantarro) and drinks (Ferrari spumante, Steinbruck champagne, Diamond vodka). the event was an occasion to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Cig@rome, which I understand is the oldest cigar club in Italy, and introduce in Italy the new Davidoff cigar, the Puro D'oro.

Here I'm... excited to sample the Davidoff Puro D'Oro. The cigar is a new blend whose major characteristic is that all the tobacco is sourced from Dominican Republic, hence the reference to being pure in the name.

The goods... I of course smoked Davidoff Puro D'Oro in Taormina. They come in 4 sizes (Deliciosos, Magnificos, Notables and Sublimes). I smoked the Magnificos and Notables and probably prefer this latter. While the bland is the same, the corona-type size gave me better smoothness and less acidity. I think it's definitely a cigar worth smoking, clearly less strong than a cuban, so perhaps a great alternative for a midday smoke...

Here, are a few cigar smoking buddies that I met at the event... 

I would also like to thank Aleksandar for making me sample the Robaina Marshall Adriatic Edition... separate post will follow on this cigar.