The last time the humidor starting looking empty I logged
on to buy my usual cigars from the usual source. I enjoy
a Cohiba Secreto in the evenings after dinner. Sweet holy
moley in a rickshaw, Batman !! I got a serious dose of
sticker shock, we're talking sticker shock out the ying yang.
Well, actually it's exchange rate shock but whatever, I am
not paying that much for cigars. No friggin' way.

So I bought a few sticks from my local tobacconist to see
if I could find a reasonably palatable alternative. And I
did. Finally.

The La Riqueza No. 5 from Pete Johnson's Tatuaje is a
Petit Corona like the Cohiba Secreto and it's a decent enough
half hour smoke that I can buy without taking out a second
mortgage. The Secreto has a Maduro wrapper and the binder &
filler are Cuban while the No. 5 is Nicaraguan wrapped in
Connecticut Broadleaf but they're amazingly similar and until
the dollar climbs out of the toilet I'll be smoking the No. 5s.

If you like to put a small stick in your vest for a quick
half hour smoke astream you could do worse than the La Riqueza
No. 5.

--
Ken Fortenberry