Duke Ellington – If it sounds good, it IS good.

Now that I’ve immersed myself into the cigar hobby, I spend a lot of time on cigar forums such as CigarGeeks and Reddit. When I first joined those communities, it triggered memories of the wine and guitar gear forums to which I belonged back in the day. I still drink wine regularly, and I still gig at least one-hundred times a year, so I keep myself up on latest trends in wine and guitars. I’m just no longer active in those communities.

Especially with respect to guitars, though I run the still-popular GuitarGear.org blog, once I found my sound, my rate of gear acquisition went WAY down. But there was a time when I was buying lots and lots of gear.

Amidst amassing a bunch of gear from amps to guitars to effect pedals and all kinds of accessories, I admittedly fell into what I call the “boutique” and “vintage” traps. I eschewed and dismissed with utter disdain everything that came from mainstream manufacturers unless one of my guitar heroes used them or the gear was 40-50 years old because, like others of the same mindset, I believed that things were built better back then.

In some cases, there was some validity to that mindset. But eventually I came to realize – especially when I had found my sound – the words that the great Duke Ellington said: If it sounds good, it IS good. And I also realized a corollary to that in that “good is good no matter the price or who makes it.”

With respect to the corollary, that didn’t mean I went cheap. I didn’t. But my buying decisions evolved to only buying gear that sounded good in my signal chain. Sometimes that cost a couple of grand, other times it was under $100. And while I still occasionally buy gear, it’s usually replacing something that has worn out or was lost at a gig. I’m no longer experimenting to find my tone because no matter what I play, I sound like me. So, if I do want to get something that I don’t already have, I only get it if it builds onto my sound and doesn’t change it in a fundamental way.

Which brings me to cigars…

A few months ago, I started falling into the boutique trap. Reading posts on forums where some folks would share that their daily sticks were $7-$10 cigars, I found myself starting to dismiss all the great budget sticks I had discovered. But then I remembered Duke’s words and my corollary to them and grounded myself again. And last week, I smoked several of my budget production sticks like Roly, Torano Dominico, Rocky Patel Cargo, Gran Habano Vintage 2002 Corojo, and one of my absolute favorites, the Rocky Patel Vintage 2nds 1990 Maduro. All of those have been so pleasing to me. I got a couple of the packs on sale so they were less than $2/stick. But shit! I don’t care. I like ’em.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have some much higher-grade cigars as well. And I smoked a bunch of those last week! At least for me, I smoke what I’m in the mood for. Mixed in with my cheapos were a few Oliva Os and Gs, a couple of Alec Bradley Lineage, and some Ave Maria Argentums. Not ultra-premium, but not cheap sticks by any stretch of the imagination.

And that’s the beauty of cigars. Nowadays, there is so much variety that will appeal to any palate. And I want to discover as much as I can. I’m at that point in life and financial means that I can easily afford to be smoking boutique ultra-premiums all the time. But I don’t, simply because I don’t want to limit myself.

Case in point, I attended a party this past weekend and brought cigars, knowing that at least one friend would be there to have a smoke with. Turns out there was another, so we had an informal herf in our host’s backyard. The conversation was mostly superficial until my friend Bill asked me what my favorite cigars are. Before I could answer, my buddy Lee said, “Brendan? He doesn’t have a favorite. I asked him the same question a month ago and he just gave me a crooked grin. I’m like that too, though I do have a few go-tos.”

Bill looked over at me, silently asking for a bit more elaboration, and I said, “I’ve been smoking for years, though it has only been in the last six months or so that I’ve gotten a lot more serious about it. To be honest, there’s nothing more sublime to me than smoking a Padron 1964 Anniversary, or a Davidoff or high-end Montecristo. But I smoke cigars like I drink wine. Sure, there are varieties I prefer, such as Pinot or a great Aussie Shiraz or Petite Syrah. But I don’t limit myself to those. I just like a great wine and I’m willing to pay for it, whether it’s cheap or expensive. And I’ve found some budget cigars that are totally enjoyable to me. Even Lee here, smokes the Roly, which is a cheap smoke, but it’s brilliant!”

Lee nodded in agreement. And said his collection of over 400 sticks is a lot like mine, though he has some VERY nice sticks that he keeps on hand. As an aside, I always laugh when I think of Lee being a cigar smoker because he’s a dentist!

Then I said, “It’s like Duke Ellington said, ‘If it sounds good, it IS good!’ but in the case of cigars and wine, if it tastes good, it IS good.”