Spring 2018. Munich, Germany.

Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro

Julyo, Roomers Hotel, Munich.

Spring 2018. Munich, Germany. I walk along Landsberger Strasse just before dinner. I've left my room at the Roomers Hotel, a trendy place. It houses the Izakaya restaurant, where Japanese and South American flavors fuse. The shadow of the old Augustiner-Bräu brewery stretches down the street, pointing towards the Donnersbergerbrücke bridge. Munich is alive. Tourists and locals sip beers outdoors—bicycles whiz by, making the city feel small and cozy.

Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro

I'm in Schwanthalerhöhe, or Westend, a few cafes past the bridge. Here, kebab spots and Asian eateries mix with indie boutiques and design shops. The Augustiner Bräustuben stands, a tavern in a 1328 brewery. Edgy galleries, intimate theaters, and the towering Bavaria statue populate the area, offering views over Bavariapark. In the center, a massive tobacco shop, Tabak-Sommer Megastore, beckons. I want to capture the day's zest. A few premium cigars seem the right choice. I’ve smoked cigars occasionally, maybe twice or three times a year, to mark something memorable. Today feels right to slow down time.

New World cigars from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic are gems. I pick an Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro and an Alec Bradley sampler. I taste cocoa from the Oliva on the Roomers Hotel terrace, paired with a frozen piña colada. The next day, under the warm sun, I enjoy Colombian coffee and Alec Bradley's Magic Toast cigar at Park Café beer garden.