Entry No. 12 November 1997

We returned from the Bahamas just in time to catch the formal debut of Rough Rider Lager, the latest project from our friend at the local cigar store. As you may recall from entry no. 11, he recently introduced a Dominican cigar to commemorate his brief but memorable role in The Rough Riders which featured Tom Berenger as Teddy Roosevelt.

Our buddy, who is getting incredible mileage out of his silent 45 seconds on the small screen, asked us to join him at a local pub to sample his new beer and meet some of his friends. It turned out to be an exciting evening.

Among his friends were several interesting people from the film industry including Francesco Quinn whom he met during the filming of The Rough Riders. Francesco is the son of actor Anthony Quinn and a fine actor in his own right. We will always remember him as Rhah, a bearded, young, bandana-clad soldier in Platoon. As a wounded Charlie Sheen is loaded onto a medivac chopper in the movie's closing moments, he looks back to see Rhah raising his barbed staff in salute and thumping his chest in triumph after surviving a desperate battle. It's a great scene from a great movie.

Our friend introduced us around.

"You must be The Cigar Lords", a pretty young lady said.

"Cigar Guys", we corrected. However, we filed away The Cigar Lords in our memory just in case we again run into trademark problems. It's not a bad name and may avoid the need to run another contest.

We were introduced to Klaus Lucka, a director who has won international awards. We are relatively sheltered here in our little burg and were not familiar with any of his films. However, he once directed a Miller beer commercial that we both remembered well.

We each got a pint of Rough Rider. It's a dark lager produced at The Old Lehigh Brewery, a microbrewery in Allentown, Pa. Stroh's is produced at a megabrewery just down the road. The Lehigh Valley has always been known for its beer.

Rough Rider Lager is a hearty beer, but without the lingering aftertaste that accompanies many of the dark lagers. Still, if you're a fan of Miller Lite, you may find this one a bit strong. Two pints accompanied by a Montecristo pyramid will likely give you a buzz.

We didn't have any Montecristos so we lit up a couple of Rough Rider robustos. (What else would you smoke at this event?) The beer stood up well to the cigars and vice versa. Once we broke the ice, others at the bar lit up.

Everyone seemed to be having a good time. One young fellow bought us another round and then somehow managed to have the beers put on our friend's tab. He was our kind of guy. We gave him a cigar.

It was time to meet Francesco Quinn. He was friendly and easy to talk to, but does not normally smoke cigars. He told us that his brother is the cigar smoker in the family. We offered him a Veracruz, a spicy, handmade Mexican cigar that comes in a humidified glass tube.

"Here, give this to your brother", we said. "He'll enjoy it."

Francesco rolled the good looking cigar in his fingers.

"I think I'll smoke this one myself", he responded. He borrowed our cutter and lighter and joined us in a smoke.

He mentioned to us that he had passed on some Rough Rider cigars to George Hamilton and Tom Selleck and they both liked them. He added that George Hamilton puts out his own line of cigars. We had come across them in Las Vegas but found them pricey at $18 each.

We soon learned that Francesco was considering making a movie in Easton, a few miles from where we live. It's an action-packed, FBI thriller entitled "Expendable" and Easton seemed to offer the gritty location that the movie demanded.

Bill's eyes lit up and I could see the wheels turning. He whispered, "Cigar Guys Cigars...Cigar Guys Beer... if we could just get a couple of parts in that damn movie."

We did not ask Francesco that night if he had an opening for a pair of 260 lb heroes--but we're working on it. Look for us at the movie's premier.

It just keeps getting better and better.

The Cigar Guys

P.S. Initially, Rough Rider Lager is being distributed nationally in barrels so look for it on tap at your favorite pub. Eventually, it will be bottled. You'll recognize it by the crossed sabers on the label.

You can The Cigar Guys at: tbill@enter.net for any comments or questions.

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