The Brotherhood of the Leaf

Posted By The Cigar Soldier on April 23, 2009

First off, shame on you lazy a-holes for missing this event.  I can only imagine that the only thing you could have been doing that might have been better than the day we had was possibly burying your mother-in-law.  For those of you that did not make the trek to Prime Cigar Company in Brookfield Wisconsin for the Midwest’s only Isabla Miami Cigar tasting, let me fill you in.  After getting a very nice sample package of the Isabela Mimai cigars to try out, I convinced Brotherhood of the Leaf member Stretch (Mark Sonnabend) and my wife (Mrs. Cigar Soldier) to ride along and spend an afternoon enjoying some free cigars and cold beer.  The wife was easy to talk into going, all I had to say was “Free Sprecher beeer” and she was in.  Aside from me she does know the finer things in life.  Upon arriving we were greeted with a free cigar immediately after walking in the front door (this was starting out pretty damn good in my book)  and a souvenir glass to sample some Sprecher Beer brewed just down the highway in Milwaukee. 

Since Saturday was the nicest day we’ve had all year, the tables that had been set up outside the lounge were nearly full and there was not an empty chair or bar stool to be found inside.  We took our already lit free stogie and glass of Sprecher Abby Triple and made our way out the back of the store to find a place to kick back.  I think we made friends with everyone near us since they were all curious about the club shirts and even more interested when they found out a couple guys from “up north” made the drive to Brookfield.  We were soon joined by fellow Brotherhood of the Leaf members Vito (Dave Kriescher) and Otis (Scott Folsom) and were now the focal point for everyone that passed by.  When you put four guys together in our matching club shirts you’re bound to get some attention and it seemed that the idea of a structured cigar club was a new concept to any of the guys we met.  Which reminds me that I must tell you, we met some really wonderful people and had the opportunity to share stories about The Brotherhood and what we do as a club.  I think we left some very jealous folks in Brookfield that day.  Anyhow, back to my story.  In the midst of numerous raffles and a Hawaiian shirt contest, we took time to seek out the owner of the store and thank them for the cigars and especially for inviting us down.   We found John (the store manager) and the first thing he did was get us more cigars and some Isabla Mimai t-shirts to commemorate the day.  Did I mention that this day was starting out pretty damn good?  Well it was getting better at this point.  We all smoked the sample cigar that was handed out at the door and headed to the walk in humidor to pick out a few more sticks to kill the rest of the afternoon.  Prime Cigar Company has a very impressive inventory including many of the top brands on the market so it was easy to find a winner that would keep me occupied for another few beers.  And that’s just what I did.

We moved to an outside table in front of the store and greeted all new comers in true fashion proudly sporting our club shirts for all to see.  I can’t count how many times people would walk up and ask if we were the guys in the cigar club from Green Bay so we must have made an impression on the ones we had already met.  We capped the day by polishing off a few great cigars, a vat of beer and then came the crowing jewel of the day.  Stretch found John and told him that since he had been so generous to The Brother Hood, we needed to “tag” Prime Cigar.  And that’s just what we did!  My boys, I plastered the official logo of The Brotherhood front and center on the door of the walk in humidor at Prime Cigar Company for all to see.  It was a great day to meet new friends and share our passion for cigars and I hope that we get the opportunity to go back for more events. You can check out some of the photos here.

Thank you John for welcoming the Brotherhood and for showing us that we are all truly brothers of the leaf.

The Cigar Soldier

Categories: Club Updates
Tags: