Brothers and Sisters, I don’t even know where to begin. I truly can’t put into words how blessed I feel tonight. I just came home from visiting one of my dearest friends after months of not being able to see him. What happened there was something I never expected, and honestly… it took me a couple of hours to fully process. Let me explain. As many of you know, I used to manage an LGBTQ+ bar that welcomed not just our Qmunity, but anyone who believed in friendship, laughter, and belonging. Earlier this year, my good friend—the owner of the bar—passed away. I fought with everything I had to reopen those doors. So many incredible people stood beside me, hoping we could bring it back to life. In the end, though, it wasn’t meant to be, and in May, that dream quietly came to an end. Losing my friend hit me harder than I ever let on. Over these last several months, I stepped back from my adult alternative lifestyle and even from parts of the Qmunity so I could heal. Many of you already know what became my therapy. Fragrances reminded me that healing sometimes arrives on the wings of scent. Cigars reminded me to slow down, breathe deeply, and reclaim moments that belonged solely to me. Being a Cigarlier became less about the cigar itself and more about the ritual of choosing myself for a little while. But emotionally… that was the hardest battle. The grief was mostly silent. I held myself together because of the love from my local Qmunity, from this incredible fragrance family, and from my beautiful partners, who never stopped reminding me that I wasn’t carrying it alone. Then came another blessing: leaving a job I wanted so badly to love—but only stayed in for the paycheck—and returning to a company that genuinely feels like home again. Even Superman has his moments with kryptonite. Some days left scars. Tonight, my friend invited me over for cigars. For about ninety minutes, we talked about everything under the sun—life, people, dreams, fools, kings… the kind of conversations that only happen when good tobacco, good company, and honesty meet.

Hello, Brotherhood! I'm a little late posting about Scent Fest SF, but I finally had a chance to sit down and share a little about it. I had the amazing opportunity to meet up with @Aditya Choksi and @Henry Clay , and we turned it into an awesome three-day trip. We had an absolute blast exploring beautiful San Francisco and even got to meet our very own @Antonio Centeno and @Lon Chaneyfield . If there's one thing I took away from this trip, it's how fortunate we are to build genuine friendships with people who share the same passion. For me, it's about much more than just hanging out, it has created friendships that go far beyond our love of "smelly water." @Antonio Centeno , it was a true pleasure finally meeting you, and man, you looked sharp! @Lon Chaneyfield , you were exactly as I imagined, a ball of energy, full of fun, laughs, and great stories. It was a pleasure spending time with you and your significant other (God bless her for putting up with you! 🤣). @Aditya Choksi and @Henry Clay ... what can I say? You guys are my brothers, and I'm honored to call you true friends. Thanks for the amazing laughs, conversation, and cigar smoke! As for Scent Fest itself, I was blown away by the incredible fragrance brands and houses that were there. Some of my standout favorites were Lorenzo Pazzaglia, Roble, Tankhouse, Jeroboam, Rose et Marius, Bohoboco, Mitti, Scentseum, and Algorithmic Perfumery, Zoologist, and many many many more! I'll be making a dedicated post about Algorithmic Perfumery because I thought the concept was incredibly interesting. They have you log into their site, answer questions to learn your scent preferences, and then create a fragrance tailored specifically to you. I had one made for myself and one for each of my daughters, and it was fascinating to see how they turned out. I'll share more about that soon.

First full wear of this, snagged the bottle at ScentFest. Deep dark tropical. The rum off the rip is intense....me likey!