As I sit outside enjoying a well-aged Oliva Black Swan, I’m looking back at my cigar journey. I’ve been enjoying cigars for well over 30 years. But it wasn’t until the last few years that I delved into the hobby in earnest. Before that, even though I smoked a lot of great cigars, such as Padron, Montecristo (Cuban and New World), I didn’t really pay much attention to the flavor profiles that each different cigar had to offer.
My interest in cigars was primarily binary: I either like the cigar or I didn’t. I didn’t really care about the nuance and subtleties of the smoke. I just knew what I liked and that was it.
I tended to gravitate towards Dominican cigars. I implicitly understood the subtle nuance of Dominican tobacco but I never really took the time to do a flavor exploration as I do now. As such, because of my propensity for Dominican cigars, my experience led me towards more mild to medium cigars.
The exception to that was when I had my first Padron ’64 Anniversary at a contract signing. That changed everything for me. The deep, rich flavors and the complexity of the blend spoke to me. But they were always on the pricey side so I didn’t indulge in them very often. To this day, I still only have one every month or so because of the price.
But that’s not a bad thing. There are so many great cigars that I have had over the past few years that provide me the same level of enjoyment but at a fraction of the price of a Padron. For instance, I have fallen in love with Tatuaje cigars, in particular the 7th Habano. That is such a sublime cigar and stands as one of my favorites. The same goes for the Don Pepin Garcia Blue. And it’s not surprising since Tats are manufactured at the My Father facility.
Then in the lower price range there are great smokes like the Oliva Black Swan that I am smoking right now or the CAO Brazilia or Alec Bradley Magic Toast. While these may not possess the complexities of those higher-end cigars, they are by no means cheap in flavor. But they sure are budget friendly.
And speaking of “budget,” there are so many great deals online that it is possible to get fantastic, high-quality cigars at a reasonable price. For instance, I just picked up a box of 25 Don Pepin Garcia Blue for $113! They normally retail for twice that much. The fact that I paid that little for that box technically puts them in the budget cigar category. But you would never ever call that cigar a budget cigar.
Anyway, back to reminiscing…
I really love this hobby. I’m probably not nearly as obsessive as some of my other brothers or sisters of the leaf. But I find so much joy in having a great smoke, especially when it’s in the company of good friends and family. Cigars have been a way for me to connect with my sons and also connect with total strangers. It’s such a wonderful experience to sit with others who enjoy a great cigar, not to mention having a good bit of whiskey to go along with it.
Unlike smoking cigarettes, at least to me, smoking cigars is so much more experiential. Sure, there are the effects of nicotine, but I don’t think that’s why cigar smokers smoke cigars. Cigars are about connection, be it connecting with others or connecting with myself. Since smoking a cigar requires an investment of time, it’s just a great way to let the world go by and forget about all the goings on of the day for a little while.
Unco B's Stogie Diary 