Happy Monday, folks!
One of the things that I like to ask our Interviewees is how they got into the cigar business. It’s always interesting when they include how they were introduced to cigars in the first place, which brings me to today’s question of the week:
How did YOU get into cigars?
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I remember my first cigar moment like it was yesterday, although I can’t tell you exactly when or what it was. Sometime between late 2007 and early 2009, a friend invited us to a birthday party for one of his kids. Neither of us really knew what we were doing and looking back on it, I’m surprised I picked up the hobby.
We ended up cutting our cigars with a knife in the kitchen, and not the way that makes any sort of sense at all. Yep, we used a serrated edge and completely demolished the poor things. I remember holding the wrapper together with my hand while I smoked it, casually spitting out pieces of tobacco like a pro.
This guy had a very interesting beginning with cigars. Read his interview
It was a windy day, and all we had was a BIC on-hand since he was a cigarette smoker. Needless to say, I had trouble keeping the cigar lit and felt like it was the most troublesome task in the world. And come to think of it, that’s why I still smoke cigars instead of a pipe – it’s just easier.
I’ll probably never know what the cigar brand was since they were unbanded. The part that really stuck with me, though, was just how relaxing it was to sit outside with a friend and chat about life as the cigar slowly turned to ash.
A couple weeks afterward, I found myself in a regular poker game and discovered that cigars were perfectly suited for cards (and whiskey). I had a little beer stop about 30 minutes away that stocked a Honduran brand amidst a shelf of ACIDs and some dollar sticks. To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever smoked as many of one cigar as I did that Honduran brand which I can’t even remember any longer.
That’s my story, what’s yours?
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Comments
The concept of this hooked me right off the bat and I began to dabble into cigars. I became heavily indoctrinated after a study abroad trip to Cuba. My first night was spent with a Monte number 2 and a mojito at Hotel Nacional. Spent the next few weeks exploring Havana and getting out to Pinar del Rio. After that trip I read all I could and smoke all I could furthering my obsession into the world of cigars.
I asked for a neat local whiskey with a side of icy cold water. After finishing off my first glass of water I realized I was not in any ordinary bar. The walls were adorn with cuban regalia—beautiful momentos of regimes past and present. And then I saw it: The walk-in humidor. Glorious and glass enclosed; cedar and grain; cigars and more cigars.
The drinks weren't expensive and I had found a nice spot to avoid the stress and responsibilities in life. Why not try one? The hostess asked me my preferences and I was honest with my unfamiliarity. She described most cigars by the profile of the clientele that chose them, rather than the cigar itself. She finally got to perhaps one of the most famous cuban cigars today: The Montecristo No. 2. Torpedo in shape, milky chocolate in color, the classic look of the band and cigar just held an allure whispering for me to pick it up, take in its aromatic notes, and toast its foot. But I get ahead of myself now and in the past.
The hostess then explained how to cut, light, and experience the cigar, but it was all blown right over my head so I asked her to do the first two steps for me. I watched as she unsheathed Cohiba branded scissors, in their weird shape, wiped them down—so they would be as shiny as possible to cut better—and cut all three caps off the cigar. Next, she grabbed a behemoth contraption from the table, and soon I realized it was a table-top lighter with four flames and tips. I remember distinctively recalling her use of the foreign phrase describing the lighting process as lightly toasting, but what we had here was much closer to a full on incineratory charring. Nonetheless I began seeing the cherry warm and the leaves take heat. Finally, she handed me the cigar and asked me to take a few puffs while she "toasted" the foot, a mere six inches from my face.
I inhaled, and of course I almost died coughing. I had and still have never had a cigarette, so the whole smoke particulates in my mouth, throat, and lungs was completely new at such densities. After a few more tries I found the technique to be quite similar to using a straw, slowing creating low pressure chamber inside of my mouth and drawing the high pressure air outside in, through the embers and coals, into my oral cavity. Like the neat whiskey, I let it sit for a second or five as the flavors began seeping through the oral mucosa and tangoing with my olfactory. Cream. PEPPER. Almonds. MORE PEPPER. HOT (temperature)! I was smoking far too quickly, and it was so incredibly peppery and burning the tongue with the heat of an overpuffed cigar. I learned real quick that slowing down make the flavors calm down, and also reduced the likeliness of burning my own tongue.
I bought a few more to bring back to my place, and I shared those the next night with a friend with a few bottles on the rooftop. Something about an empty sky, decent cigars, and excellent whiskey made the great company even more amazing. Nowadays as I power through legal this and law that, it's often a battle of cramming as much efficiency and content into each .1 hour. So when I can find the time to sit back, toast a foot, and flirt with a smoldering cigar, I enjoy the peace and relaxation it brings.
Only thing I remember about them was they were green and stunk when he smoked them. Fast forward 30 years or so and I started bowhunting for Elk fall of 2006. A couple years later, my hunting buddy brought some cigars along for the hunting trip. Don't remember what they were but might have been some AJ's. From there, things just spiraled.... :-)
But what really got me into them was when a buddy of mine who smokes wanted to smoke with me, at first I said no. But then I watched an episode of Louder With Crowder where Dennis Prager was guest and they talked about cigars for an hour, that sparked my interest.
So not long after I find myself at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City with my family, and I stop into a cigar bar to pick up a couple sticks. I told the guy how I was new to it and wanted to try something lighter and something heavier to see what I like more. He then suggested i purchase the Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne and the Oliva Serie V Melanio, i smoked them that night on the porch at the hotel.
I still remember the singular moment when I "got it". It was night, clear skies, bright moon, countless stars and I was just admiring the beauty of Gods creation. While smoking the Melanio, relaxing on the porch as my family slept... I tasted f-ing chocolate!
That was my moment. I will cherish it and chase it till the end of days.