Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending the CAO Lady Liberty giveaway party.  I realized I would not be the only blogger on hand when David Jones of Tiki Bar Online sent an e-mail saying he’d be there and another message the day before asking if I could direct Jerry Cruz (yes, Don “Cruz”ado himself) to any smoking destinations in downtown Nashville.  Hey, I always say the more the merrier and it’s always nice to see David and talk shop, plus I’ve been reading Jerry’s blog for some time so I was excited to finally meet the “Don”.

For those not familiar with the project the bike was built for CAO by Sucker Punch Sallys of Scottsdale, Arizona.  For the past year the “lady” has travelled the country, stopping at various cigar outlets along the way as part of CAO’s Lady Liberty tour.  Along the way a few lucky folks won entry into the sweepstakes at these events, and you also had the opportunity to get in on the action by entering online.

As far as the event itself was concerned; well let’s just say the folks at CAO really know how to throw a party, and for all of you guys that missed it you truly missed a knock-out event.  Upon entering the festivities you were greeted by two lovely young ladies who handed you a nice Lady Liberty t-shirt and a bag that included a few cigars and some nice CAO swag.  From the free cigars and swag to the food, no aspect of the party was overlooked.  Bartenders served libations from an open bar (yes, open bar) and there were two kegs of locally brewed Yazoo beer freely flowing outside under the tent.  By the way, they weren’t serving your typical “well” liquors; instead they poured Jack Daniel’s, Bulleit Bourbon, Crown Royal, and Finlandia Vodka just to name a few.  All of these paired really well with the complimentary La Traviata, America, and Gold that the young ladies had handed out earlier.

Then there  was the food which came courtesy of Morton’s Steakhouse.  The chef’s kicked out some wonderful items from their outdoor kitchen that would not necessarily be considered your typical cookout fare.  At any given time you could grab a Grade A slider, Maryland crab cakes, “huge” bay scallops with apricot chutney (my personal favorite), grilled asparagus, and fresh tomatoes with mozzarella.  I personally went with a plate that included a slider, a couple of crab cakes, and few of the scallops with the amazing apricot chutney.  My food choices also paired nicely with the America I had lit while waiting in line.

As soon as I had finished my lunch I made my way back outside for the big announcement.  This was the moment that everyone had been waiting for; the “giveaway”.  After a year long tour the lovely “Lady Liberty” would finally be awarded to one lucky semi-finalist.  I finally made my way out the door when I heard Cigar Dave announce that Keith Henninger was the lucky winner of the bike.  A fitting ending to a great contest.  I say this because I remember Keith being interviewed earlier in the day by the film crew from Sucker Punch Sallys and actually tearing up a couple of times.  I didn’t have the opportunity to meet all of the semi-finalists, but after meeting Keith I can safely say that the prize was well deserved.  Congratulations Keith and thanks to everyone at CAO for a wonderful day.

Thanks to Jerry for giving some great advice to the new guy in the blog world and for the beautiful La Palina, and thanks to David for hanging throughout the day and coming out to UPtown’s with the Nashville Cigar Club crew afterwards.  It was a true pleasure hanging with you guys yesterday and I look forward to doing it again.

For David’s view point on all the festivities check out his article at Tiki Bar Online.  Some of my pictures didn’t turn out so well, but thankfully David took lots of pictures that did turn out which you can view on his Facebook page.  As for Jerry’s take, there was no post available when I published my article (I’m sure he was still on the plane) so keep checking on Stogie Review for Jerry’s video documenting the event.

Photo of “Lady Liberty” courtesy of David and Tiki Bar Online.

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