Article courtesy of 813 Area – Christine Annis
The Cigar Dave Alpha Pleasurefest celebrated the Alpha Male Good Life poolside at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa on Saturday, November 21st with a day filled with cigars, spirits, food and fun! Cigar Dave is the creator and host of the nationally syndicated radio show, the Cigar Dave Show. Broadcast every Saturday from noon – 2 p.m. on over 120 radio stations across the United States, Cigar Dave leads his listeners in the Alpha Male Good Life with news and information about cigars, spirits, grilling, manly pursuits, and other lifestyle diversions. Cigar Dave led the live broadcast while his Cigar Lieutenants enjoyed a selection of Davidoff Cigars, spirits from Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester and a scrumptious buffet from Executive Chef Bill Gideon and Pastry Chef Alon Gontowski.
The faithful Cigar Lieutenants gathered early to kick off the ultimate Alpha Male day and got the cigar smoking started with a selection of Premium Davidoff Cigars. Davidoff, one of the biggest names in sophisticated smoking, offers an extensive selection and range of luxury cigars, all made by hand in the Dominican Republic. Attendees received a Premium Davidoff Cigar Assault Pack, a selection of 6 unique cigars, highlighting the wide range of distinct Davidoff flavors. To celebrate the grand opening of the new “Davidoff of Geneva since 1911 Cigar Bar and Lounge” in Tampa in December 2015, Cigar Lieutenants had the privileged opportunity to sample the new Exclusive Edition Tampa cigar. This creamy mild cigar, a collaboration between Davidoff Cigars and Davidoff Tampa owner Jeff Borysiewicz, honors Tampa’s rich history.
Cigar Lieutenants paired their cigars with a variety of spirits from Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester. Lieutenants especially enjoyed the newly launched, 129 proof, Jack Daniels Single Barrel Whiskey, personally selected by Cigar Dave. The name “Single Barrel” derives from the production process, where just one out of every 100 barrels are set aside to mature. Dramatic temperature changes allow the color and taste to deepen further, creating a one-of-a-kind flavor and robust taste with notes of toasted oak, vanilla and caramel, according to the website.
Cigar Dave commenced the broadcast of the Cigar Dave Show with his signature opening greeting of “Long Ashes” and then led the Lieutenants in the national cigar lighting ritual. Attendees relished the chance to share this ritual live with friends, Davidoff Cigars in hand. Cigar Dave welcomed several guests including celebrity Chef Marc Murphy, who stopped by to chat about the recently opened Grey Salt Restaurant in the casino. During breaks in the action, Lieutenants enjoyed listening to the eighteen piece, Frank Sinatra inspired, Cigar Dave Orchestra.
Because Lieutenants can’t live on cigars and spirits alone, Executive Chef Bill Gideon presented a cigar inspired feast along with a carving station from the Pooch Pit. Cigar Dave collaborated with Chef Gideon to present a cigar and whiskey friendly menu highlighting “smoky, spice forward flavors that kick” said Gideon. Choices included a fresh Ybor City Cobb Salad, Italian Sausage Sliders, Smoky Gnocchi with Short Ribs, Pork Pancetta stuffed with Fennel and House-made Tator Tots. The Pooch Pit came all the way from Buffalo, NY and smoked favorites including gigantic Tomahawk Steaks, Veal Pastrami, and Smoked Brisket. Everything was super delicious!
“Sweet Genius” Chef Alon Gontowski collaborated with Cigar Dave to create an incredible selection of cigar inspired desserts. Chef Gontowski infused flavors from two pounds of cigar wrappers into several flavors of ice cream and assorted filled chocolate cigars. Inventive tobacco ice cream flavors included Floral Tobacco Ice Cream, Hazelnut Chocolate Swirl Tobacco Ice Cream and Cinnamon Tobacco Ice Cream. Chocolate cigar fillings included a luscious Dark Chocolate Kirsch Mousse, Baileys Mousse, Grand Marnier Mousse and a holiday inspired Whiskey Eggnog Mousse. There was also an out of this world Whiskey Apple Cobbler with Caramel Sauce.
Although the day eventually had to come to an end, every Lieutenants left with a gift bag, representing a piece of the Alpha Male Good Life. The snazzy Cigar Dave duffle bags contained a bottle of Jack Daniels, assorted Jack Daniels merchandise, matches, and a bag of Cigar Dave coffee.
Many thanks to the Cigar Dave Show, Cigar Dave, Executive Chef Bill Gideon, Pastry Chef Alon Gontowski, the Pooch Pit, the Cigar Dave Orchestra and everyone else who worked so hard to make this a successful Alpha Male day! Until next year.