My Personal Cigar Journey

I started this blog with the intention of journaling my tasting notes from numerous cigars I have smoked mainly for me to have as reference point to look back on and remember. I thought it would be fun to go back to the beginning and talk about how I came to be a "cigar smoker."

For me the first cigar was a Swisher Sweet smoked with a friend of mine named Aaron Robinson while I lived in upstate New York. I really don't remember the exact circumstance surrounding the situation or how we arrived at deciding to try a cigar, but I do remember the experience.

It's funny now that while looking back almost 17 years to that first experience how I wouldn't even think of smoking a Swisher Sweet today, but that first experience was enough to compel me into continuing to try cigars.

Fast forward a number of years and we arrive at my next big "cigar milestone" when myself along with some friends ventured into a newly opened Cigar shop at The Block at Orange in Orange California. This open air mall had all sorts of "hip" new places to shop and eat including a small little shop selling cigars. My friends and I all went in and I remember buying a Monte Cristo cigar that was upwards of $10. On the counter after paying for the cigar they had a cutter and a lighter, and it took me more than a few tries to get the cigar lit sufficiently, and the power of that smoke was overwhelming to say the least.

In terms of taste, flavor etc., I really don't remember much other than the need to keep the cigar lit and not get sick in the process. Looking back whatever the exact cigar was that I bought that day obviously was more cigar than I was ready to handle, and although in the end I enjoyed the experience, it would be close to a year or so before venturing back to try another cigar.

It sounds pathetic now, but that "next" cigar was none other than a Swisher Sweet!

I think the mood and circumstance was such that that next experience was so good, I knew there was more out there and of course the not so distant memory of the "big" cigar I had had was lingering in my mind telling me that somewhere between the Swisher Sweet I was enjoying and the Monte Cristo that all but made me sick was the sweet spot.

So naturally I did what one does when curious, I started to investigate. I ventured into a small tobacco shop and headed straight for the humidor trying to "look like" I knew what I was doing (I didn't!). The owner of the shop was stocking shelves in the humidor and inquired as to whether I needed help or not, I told him No, and I proceeded to look around, read some of the shelf tags and ultimately settled on a 2 or 3 that had bands that looked interesting.

Certainly not the most informed approach, but it proved to provide a couple different cigars that I smoked over the next few days.

I really think those few days are what turned a curious soul into a hobbyist of sorts, for within the selections I had made from the store based solely on the band I realized there is a difference in taste, quality, and experience that comes from different types of cigars. And with an almost childlike fascination I headed back to the same tobacco store and bought a couple other cigars and again ventured out to try them.

I guess you could say I was hooked. Initially my wife wasn't too thrilled about it, but she has come to understand and has even tried a cigar to humor me.

Enter the birth of my first child, my son Ethan. I used his birth as an excuse to make numerous trips to the store to buy more cigars finding it necessary to smoke a cigar in celebration with anyone, at anytime. My wife had bought a box of Romeo y Julieta for me for Fathers day 2006, a day which landed a few weeks shy of the birth of my son, and along with that box I found ample time and excuse to light up and smoke not only the cigars she had bought for me, but also those I was buying at the Cigar Shop where I was now on a first name basis with the owner.

During that period I remember smoking quite a few CAO Soprano Editions, CAO MX2 and CX2 cigars as well as the Monte Cristo White, a cigar that I had enjoyed numerous times after having "found" it at the cigar shop.

While trips to the store used to only include the purchase of 2 or 3 sticks, I was now buying 5 to 10 and on several occasions buying a whole box, in particular the CAO Gold 10th Anniversary edition which came packaged 10 to a box, and was a fantastically rolled perfecto that burned evenly and tasted fantastic.

As I wrap up this post I have used a lot of terms within this and other posts as to things pertaining to cigars, and one of my readers requested a Cigar 101 of sorts, so in closing I wanted to address some of those terms that identify the different areas and sections of a cigar.

The foot is the end of the cigar that is lit up, the head is the end we draw on. When you look at the head of a cigar, it has the cap which closes off the head of the cigar. If you look closely at teh cigar you'll see the cap and the portion of the leaf that comprises that section, where the cap ends is called the shoulder of the cigar.

Without getting into blending of leaves for flavor, the body of the cigar is made up of the long leaf filler, these are whole tobacco leaves bound together and held in place by the binder. The binder is essentially a wrapper, but one that is not fit for the finished product. After the binder leaf goes on, a wrapper is put on and glued in place using a vegetable based flavorless glue. The wrapper is only glued close to the head, and to that a cap is put in place to close off the cigar.

Now I know this is just a quick 20 second run down, there is a lot more than that in terms of size, shape, whether or not a cigar is box pressed etc., however I wanted to hit on the basics so that you'll have a general understanding when I refer to different terms. Cigar Aficionado magazine has a really good Cigar 101 section that I would encourage one to check out to learn more, it is a reference I still use from time to time when I hear a term I am not familiar with.

The exciting part of cigars for me is the journey, and as with any journey there is always the anticipation of "what's next." For me I know what I have sitting in the humidor will serve as milestones on my journey, but I also know there are lots of cigars that are still to come, and make a stay no matter how brief in my humidor.

I continue to encourage you try to new items, and always be willing to suggest some for me to try as well. The cigars I write about here can serve as the starting point for your journey, I know once you get started you'll have as much fun on your journey as I am having on mine.

Until next time...