Stinky ashtrays were born as a stainless steel bowl, typical of a kitchen mixing dish, that has oval shaped “cigar stirrups” spot welded on the edge to hold the cigar firmly in place. It would be deep enough to hold hours of smoking ash, wrappers, cedar and anything else a small group would discard during a standard HERF session. And that is it. The Stinky is very simple, functional and the ashtray finally became beautiful.

So how did all of this come about? According to the StinkyCigar.com website “I developed this ashtray out of a need at our weekly herf. We need bigger ashtrays! The first Stinky Cigar Ashtray was a second hand silver bowl that I had for years. In January of 2004, I took three souvenir coins to a radiator shop and had them soldered to the rim. The guys loved it and wanted me to make some for them. It was a lot of work, so I said no. Each week they would repeat their desire to have a large bowl ashtray.”

I guess it’s safe to say the rest was history. Today I can say that the Stinky ashtray is the standard for cigar companies presenting at shows (IPCPR) and just about every cigar lounge around the country. It also comes to no surprise that Stinky has also implemented some great changes to help evolve his product even further.

Consumers now have the ability to purchase various sizes (HERF Edition holds 3 gallons of ash), floor stand models, handles for easy carrying/dumping and my personal favorite the Powder Coated models. The Powder Coated ashtrays are the new “smaller-taller” editions that stand 6.5 inches tall and 7 inches in diameter that still hold the same amount of ash as the original design.  Powder Coating helps keep the bowl in pristine shape for the wet environments and cool to the touch in the hot climates. Each of the black and brown color combination’s are still capped with the stainless stirrups that creates a brilliant and eye-catching contrast.  You can acquire one of these new ashtrays for a small investment of about $35 and is well worth the “investment” because it is one of the few smoking accessories your wife (or non-smoking other half) won’t mind keeping on display.

As a quick side note, and story I think everyone can relate to, this is how Stinky got his name: “Stinky got his name from his wife when he started smoking cigars and came into the house with that familiar odor.”

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I have owned a few humidors in my time, and most of them have been fairly decent in quality, but they ultimately lack in either the functionality department or the aesthetics department. There has always seemed to be an imbalance, but Adorini has bridged the gap in the construction of their Sorrente Deluxe.  The first thing one tends to notice about the humidor is its glossy smooth exterior with its brilliantly detailed leaf in the center of the lid. While I would figure that one would either love or hate the leaf, I think it adds a lovely character touch to the presentation! At its heart it is a proud symbol of the treasures that lay below, and what cigar smoking is all about.

Beneath its bold and beautiful exterior lies the litmus test of its construction, the Spanish Cedar.  The Spanish Cedar interior is unique to Adorini in that they utilize a new design called “Rib Tech.” The idea behind Rib Tech is that the ribbed interior allows for better circulation of air in the humidor. The bottom slats of cedar are also unique in that they can move a bit, thus allowing for expansion of the wood in high humidity situations.  As a final touch on the interior Adorini also provides slot dividers that can be configured in a variety of manners to compartmentalize one’s cigar collection into separate zones, so that their respective flavors don’t co-mingle over time.

The final aspect of the Adorini Sorrente Deluxe is it’s precision hair calibrated hygrometer, and gold plated humidifier with sliding ventilation openings to allow for precision humidity control. Both are nice features that add a quality fit and finish to the overall product.  Perhaps one of the nicest aspects of these components are the way in which they are fastened to the inside of the humidor.  The hygrometer and humidifier are able to be optimally placed with a concealed magnet that resides under the wood of the humidors lid.  No more sticky pieces of Velcro or glue magnets that tend to fade with time in this box.

Conclusions:
After following the instruction manual for initial humidor setup, I watched and monitored the humidor over the next few weeks to see how it would do. Having observed the humidor I can say that it does indeed perform nicely. The humidity has been staying around 70%, and has required little effort in the realm of maintenance. Some humidors require quite a bit of vigilance in the initial stages to ensure that humidity fluctuations stabilize, and that you don’t have a poorly sealed humidor; with the Adorini that simply wasn’t the case. The humidity stabilized relatively quickly and it has remained consistent throughout. I have since only adjusted the humidifier once to account for the seasonal shifts of heat in Arizona, but other than that the humidor has performed admirably.

In conclusion I would highly recommend the Adorini Sorrente Deluxe for any buyer who likes a smaller humidor with a refined finish, and consistent microenvironment for their cigars. It retails online for around $270.00 USD, and comes fully equipped and ready to go.  As an added bonus, and perhaps one of the best features I have ever seen with a humidor, is it’s comprehensive manual, that not only walks you through the set-up process, but also explains how each part works, and best practices when it comes to establishing and maintaining your humid microenvironment!  Adorini has done an admirable job in taking innovative steps in the construction of their humidors.  So if you are looking for the best of old world design in a new innovative package, then look no further than the Adorini Sorrente Deluxe humidor.

While the Adorini Sorrente Deluxe Humidor can not easily be found in retail locations you can have confidence in ordering this piece from HumidorDiscount.com. This is where puffingcigars.com received ours from and it was delivered to our door within days.

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The FlintFire I Windowpane is the “slim” design that measures 5/16 of an inch thick, 2 3/4 inches in length and 1 3/8  wide. Despite the slender size the solid high-gloss body has a great weight and texture in your hand. The lines are just large enough to be felt by your fingers and the “Flint Strike Wheel” texture/lines are slightly enlarged for effortless lighting.

A small plate hides the FlintFire I Windowpane fill nozzle and the flame adjuster is, again, a replica of the S.T. Dupont. However this “Easy Adjustment Wheel” is rather miniature and may not be ideal for anyone with larger hands. It is safe to say that you will need finger nails or a small sharp object to lift it up. I also want to mention that while I am comparing the FlintFire I Windowpane to a S.T. Dupont the lid will not make any sort of “ping“.

FlintFire I Windowpane is a great lighter that one can use for the occasional social gathering. The size of the lighter limits the amount of fuel and therefore makes it a little too much work as a heavy use cigar lighter. The other downfall is that the FlintFire only has a single flame making it great for a quick touch-up but time consuming for lighting a larger cigar.

Remember that the size is limiting the FlintFire I Windowpane in features and you will be required to carry a cutter or punch.

MSRP for the FlintFire I Windowpane is a reasonable $79.99 and comes with the XIKAR Life Time Warranty.

The Rocky Patel Event Dual Torch lighter is a sleek pull down piece of machinery that comes in black, gunmetal and silver colors. The all metal body gives it a nice heavy feel in your hands and is slim enough to fit in your jeans without taking up too much space.

The slide down ignition is easy to use for our large fumbling hands that sends two jets of fire shooting towards your cigar. These jets are are covered by a big metal top that snaps firmly in place to prevent any unintentional lights.  The only markings on the body is the “RP” logo that is printed in the middle and has yet to come (yes we tried to take it off with our keys).

Towards the bottom of the body is a very large and easy to read fuel meter that displays the amount of fuel in the Rocky Patel torch. The fuel capacity is very large and holds more than a months worth of heavy cigar lighting.

The bottom has a small but adequate punch that pops out revealing the fill nozzle and the flame adjuster.  The flame adjuster does require a very small flat edge to move. So adjusting the flame is not an easy thing on the go but this does prevent a surprising light if you happen to toss it around a bit.

Rocky Patel Event Dual Torch is the perfect lighter for all you Rocky Patel fanatics to add to the collection or for people who need a lighter with a large capacity. MSRP for the dual torch is about $60 but like most of Rocky Patel’s items you can find it for less than half online.

After some power water drinking you start looking for your car keys, the bank card, and even your beloved cigar lighter. Realizing the card is still at the last bar you start to breath easy. Your girlfriend sends you a text message letting you know your wallet is in the car. But what about that lighter? Did you give it to some random people to light their cigars or cigarettes? Were people passing it around as a community flame? Either way the lighter is gone forever.

You now have two choices:

1. But a brand new lighter and never go out again or…
2. Buy the perfect party lighter for just under a buck!

I am referring to a BIC lighter.

May people tend to forget that the BIC lighter is a butane filled. This is the same butane that goes into your Dupont or the Lotus L29 premium lighters (if you don’t get too technical). This convenience store lighter is capable of creating a flamer bigger than a match, more controlled, and is dispensable enough to loose it.

Additionally, a majority of the BIC lighters today are electronic light (good for over 3,000 starts) and have an opening on the bottom for refilling purposes. If that’s not incentive enough, these lighters also come with a little push button LED light.

What else can you ask for when spending a dollar?

Let me introduce you to the Lamborghini yellow, super sleek, one push Lotus L2940.

The only common text I could find about the Lotus company was “Developed by leading engineers and manufacturers of luxury smoking products; Lotus lighters combine sportive European design with state of the art manufacturing. Lotus lighters perform with the elegance of a premium European manufactured lighter, at a fraction of the price.”

Your eyes will fall in love with the flat silver body wrapped in a bright colored paint. The body is one piece with very clean proportional lines outlining the single ignition button in the middle. A gas window sits on the backside allowing you to see your fuel level.

Press the ignite button and watch the hidden door at the top slide open and dispense a single jet capable of making some clean welds in a sticky situation. Of course the door closes when your done making it look like the Lotus L29 just cleaned up after itself.

The flame adjuster on the bottom is only going to move with the help of a screwdriver (or anything else that’s slim and solid). As a person who likes to throw his lighter in his jeans it’s nice to know your settings wont change.

These clean features wrapped in a solid body make this one of the coolest (and consistent) lighters that you can add to your arsenal of cigar weapons.

MSRP: $100

Normally this would immediately do the trick and put me to sleep but tonight would be slightly different. A textile appraiser suddenly appeared on screen impressed with something any cigar smoker would want: An Antique Smoking Jacket.

This Antique Smoking Jacket was a late 19th century, hand sewn piece, that the grandmother of the guest had constructed. The really interesting part: The jacket was made of the silk bands that manufactures would use to bundle their cigars. Yellow in color (primarily) you could clearly see the names of all the cigar companies that contributed.

Appraisal: $4,000-5,000.

I guess it’s time to start counting my pennies or find a girl who is willing to do this for me because this is something I would love, if not need, to have.

Here is the transcript from the appraisal (you can view the Roadshow page here):

GUEST: I brought a smoking jacket that was made by my great-grandmother for her husband, Charles. She lived in the Boston area and they traveled to various areas in New England. She was born in 1866, right after the Civil War.

APPRAISER: What’s really interesting about this jacket is that it’s made up of cigar silks,

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: which were the ribbons that were tied around bundles of cigars. Starting in the late 1860s, they started exporting them to distributors and bundling them and using the cigar ribbons as advertisement for the different brands. Almost every household in the United States had someone that smoked cigars. This was before cigarettes.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: She used feather stitching here,

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: which is really interesting. And I just wanted to show some of the different labels that we have here. This one down here is Havana, Bradford. Some of these are from the Massachusetts area. There’s Shawmut, the Boston Bouquet, the Harvard. Now, this one is a woven label, which connotated a more expensive cigar than the stamped ones. Also we have Blackstone, which was a really famous brand. The ones I really love are… We have Flying Dude, right, American Tramp… and I love how your grandmother pieced these. It’s totally balanced. Over here we have a Back Bay and it’s next to a Boston Bouquet.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: And so she really gave this a lot of thought in putting this together. Usually the cigar labels we see as household textiles in the late 19th century, they were made into quilts and table covers. Don’t see a lot of clothing made out of them. So this is… this is a really special piece. I would date this to about 1880s, 1890s.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: Because of the cutaway style of this gentlemen’s smoking jacket. It’s like a hip thing, it’s not… you know, it’s almost something you’d expect to see in the 1960s. It’s not typical of that period. So this has a lot going for it. It’s collectible as a man’s garment, as a tobacco collectible and also as folk art because of the way it’s pieced and the work on it.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: And I think this is in the $4,000 to $5,000 range.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: At auction.

GUEST: That’s very nice.

APPRAISER: Thank you for bringing it.

GUEST: Thank you.

Often time I justify the purchases to my boss (spelled w-i-f-e) by really breaking down the reason I need the lighter as opposed to the one I just purchased.

The story usually goes like this: “I NEEDED to buy the XIKAR EX brushed lighter because it has one flame and that gives me better control on my relights. Sometimes the dual flames are just overkill. And you told me to stop buying so much lighter fluid, so im conserving it. Plus this one matches perfect when I wear a white shirt and it’s classy. The other dark lighters were more for evenings, wearing a dark jacket. Or they were just something I wouldn’t mind loosing. I love you.”

Shortly right after I get a dark glare that only signals my retreat to the couch for the rest of the night.  One night on the couch is a small price to pay to add this lighter to my collection.

The XIKAR EX brushed is a single flame beauty that will feel solid in your hands.

The brushed finish makes it rugged enough to be your everyday lighter without the fear of scratching the body in your pockets (keys, phone, etc). Additionally it is easy to take a polisher to it for a quick clean up.

The flame adjuster is located on the bottom and allows the lighter to stand upright. The knob is large enough to adjust the flame with ease but it will not accidentally move on you.

Price will hit you in the wallet at $59.99 from XIKAR directly. Doing a little internet research you can pick this up at an even $50.

Allow me to introduce you to the Don Carlos Edicion de Aniversario travel humidor by Prometheus.

The Don Carlos humidor prominently displays the Don Carlos logo across the top, exactly like its “big brother” that comes in the set.

Macassar Ebony in color, the humidor can only be obtained by attending the October, 2006 God of Fire charity dinner. Although you might find someone selling theirs on eBay or your favorite cigar forum.

Production on the humidor was limited to just 75 and must be purchased in the full Don Carlos Edicion de Aniversario set. The set, which came with the cigars as well, will set you back $6,500.

Due to the limited quantities and the fact that its a special edition Fuente product you might possibly find the individual travel humidor in the $1,000 range (if you’re lucky).

If you can do without the logo across the top of the box then purchase the humidor from your local shop for around $275.00

For anyone looking for this type of feeling – try a S.T. Dupont lighter.

The name S.T. Dupont comes from the founder, Simon Tissot-Dupont who founded the company in 1872. Originally the Dupont company was manufacturing luxury leather goods. In 1920 the business was handed on to his two sons who brought the company to an international platform. At the beginning of World War II S.T. Dupont mad his first lighter for The Maharajah Of Patiala (a king) who wanted a portable lighter that could be carried around in a case. Thus, luxury portable lighters are born and introduced into the world.

“World-renowned, these coveted objects are purchased, and offered, as if they were jewels.”

Today S.T. Dupont still creates lighters of pure luxury that fits in the palm of your hands. The Dupont starts out as a solid piece of brass that is carefully handcrafted and can come in any style of solid gold, accented or created with beautiful diamonds, palladium, and even decorated with lacquer.

Each individual lighter created will go through 600 operations, 300 tests and over 100 hours of work. Serial numbers are etched on the bottom and the artist or creator may inital or sign his name on the inside of the casing.

Is S.T. Dupont worth the money?
That’s the magic question at hand. The short answer has to be: No. A BIC lighter produces fire just like a S.T. Dupont. Matches can be obtained from any establishment and this simplistic method is even capable of producing fire. But when you start putting a little more thought beyond “fire” you will realize it might just be a good idea to invest.

A cigar smoker will spend, on average, $10 for a single hour of enjoyment. This activity may carry on many times a week – so how often do you handle a flame? How often do you light, re-light, and correct a cigar? Regardless of your answer you still spend $10 for a single hour of enjoyment. S.T. Dupont lighters start at $500  (not exact pricing) but will stay with you for a lifetime, or longer if you decide to pass it on, and it will become part of your everyday life.

What did the lighter do for me?
Living in the 21st century means my life is surrounded by cell phones, video messages, and setting up a date via somespace-book-twitter system.

Yet I can still get away from it all by stepping outside and pulling the beautiful silver piece from my jacket pocket. My fingers have a slight pull due to the weight – a true feeling of quality. With ease I flip the top and hear perfect-pitch “ping” that vibrates in my mind. My thumb glides across the lighter and initiates the perfect flame to light my cigar. The S.T. Dupont has never failed to light on first strike, it has never failed to take my mind back in time, and it has never failed to bring a smile to my face.

I look forward to passing this timeless lighter, the feeling of quality, this pure simplicity on to my son as he makes his transition into adulthood.