My Personal Cigar Statement! Please Add Your Thoughts!!!!

Cigar conversation.

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MJL
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Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:08 pm

In my misspent youth I would smoke just about any cigar; machine made, hand made, hand rolled, good, bad and ugly all graced my lips from one time to another. In my old age I have come to develop distinct preferences and will use this post to list mine. I invite others to follow suit.

I like dark cigars. Those cigars using the maduro or ripened and fermented leaf of the tobacco plant as a wrapper seem to satisfy my tastes for complex intense flavors.

I like long cigars. I often and incorrectly smoke a cigar down to the point my that my lips are burning. Those who have smoked cigars long enough will know that somewhere around 70% into the cigar the flavors will become harsh and bitter. All things being equal (quality of tobacco, construction, humidity) a longer cigar will give more time to enjoy and explore the flavors

I like thick cigars. Again, it has been my experience that thicker cigars are more forgiving of variables (construction, fast smoker, humidification issues) while at the same time almost always provide a much more complex smoke.

I like hand made cigars. I am convinced I can taste the difference between a machine made and a hand made cigar. The cigar roller is an artist. To see one at work is a thing of joy and beauty. To enjoy their art is to partake in their soul. Machines have no soul. Cigar's made on machines are soulless.

I like aged cigars: Some cigars, especially those with lighter wrappers can suffice with 6 moths to a year of aging. But those that are thicker ring cigars and especially those with the maduro wrapper benefit greatly from extended aging in a proper humidor exposed to Spanish ceder at a humidity level between 65%-70%. Smoking one of these before a year aging in your humidor is not allowing the full greatness of the cigar to emerge. This is why many, like myself, keep a few hundred cigars in humidors. This allows a rotation of new cigars coming in and aged cigars coming out. Most also keep a small portion for really long term aging. I have some cigars that are 15 years old. Most, though, age 3-5 years before getting consumed.

I like properly stored cigars. Nothing and I mean nothing is more disappointing to a cigar smoker than to light up a stick to find it is either under or over humidified. Over humidification will crack wrappers, distort the smoke by not allowing the cigar to burn correctly or at all. In extreme cases you can see mold growing on over humidified cigars. Under humidified cigars are just a damned shame. The essential oils in the tobacco just float off when the humidity level is allowed to plummet. Although under-humidified cigars can be, in many cases, re-humidified, they always loose a certain amount of flavor and character. Under-humidified cigars burn like a forest fire; releasing tars and horrid tastes.

I like to enjoy cigars with close friends. Although I am an intensely private person I do admit that fine cigars are best enjoyed in the company of others. Although, I do enjoy a cigar in the dark winter evening; by myself, contemplating my private thoughts. Those moments that I recall the clearest and with fond feelings are those shared with close friends and good cigars. Usually there was talk of children, holidays, guns and the future after a superb meal. These are the moments that make life worth living.

I like to enjoy cigars with good spirits. I think that almost any liquid will improve the smoking experience. I have enjoyed and tried every thing from water to coffee to vodka with everything in between. I like to smoke cigars with a brown grain-based spirit. That could be Scotch, Irish whiskey, Bourbon or Corn whiskey. I am also very fond of good quality Rums with cigars; the darker the rum the better. Beers are good with cigars but often lose themselves in the complexity of the cigar unless they themselves are also intensely flavored and can stand up to the cigar. In this regard I like Stouts when smoking a cigar.

I like to enjoy cigars after a good meal. Cigars seem to compliment a meal heavy in proteins that Americans enjoy. Beef, Turkey, Pork and most game go excellent with an after supper cigar. Most fish, with the exception of the red fleshed fishes seem to suffer with a cigar after supper and the same can be said of delicate dishes made from chicken, salads, and other light fodder. To settle down, after a good supper with a good cigar is one of those memorable moments that stick with a man.

I like bargain cigars. I have found that I can find cigars to suit my tastes usually around $5 a stick or less. Yeah, I have smoked some expensive cigars in my times, and they were fine, but I am not sure they were worth $25, $30 or more. The cigars I smoke most often are either Padron's or La Gloria Cubana seconds. There are plenty of cigars for well under $5 a piece that are superb.

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Capn Jimbo
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Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:39 pm

The cigars I smoke most often are either Padron's or La Gloria Cubana seconds. There are plenty of cigars for well under $5 a piece that are superb...
Nice post, care to share some of the sub $5 superbos?
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Capn Jimbo
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peetie44
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Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:07 pm

A most generous post, sir; in fact, it's descriptiveness compelled me to stop mid-read, light up and pour a dram of single malt.

In my humble opinion, the most critical differences between 100% hand-rolled (mind you, many advertised "hand-rolled" cigars have, in fact, some machine work involved) and the average machine-rolled cigar are 1) with 100% hand-rolled products, you are much more likely to enjoy a "fresher" smoke, by which I mean such cigars quite often benefit from less, possibly questionable, bulk-storage and impersonal handling factors, which in turn reduces the chances of these cigars encountering unintentional, but nonetheless potentially damaging, wide-range temperature/humidity variatiions, or of their inadvertently picking up random, air-bourne impurities and 2) a properly hand-rolled cigar will almost always draw easier than those machined, thereby lowering the risk of fouling the taste with inadvertent over-drawing and hot-boxing.

I was recently employed in Madrid, Spain and stopped by a favorite cigar shop (please forgive me, but I can never remember it's name, or to get a business card, but it's near my usual downtown hotel) to pick up some Monte Cristos (#2's and #4's) and was treated by the shop owner to a hand-rolled cigar of approximately robusto dimensions, rolled on-premises by a resident Cuban ex-pat . The tobacco was straight from the shop owner's private stash, aged and stored under the strictest of temperature/humidity/air-quality standards and the cigar was rolled as I waited and observed. Sheer smoking bliss.

As far as personal favorites, as a traveling man, I enjoy a wide variety of cigars from all over the world, respective to my immediate budget and what is available at any given time and location. However, since I happen to live in Europe at the present, I have pretty much defaulted to the aforementioned Monte Cristos; #2 for a long smoke and #4 for one of shorter duration.

Lastly, I applaud the observations and choices which you shared and am in total agreement regarding the ferreting-out of fine, bargain cigars.
"Time wounds all heels." -- Julius "Groucho" Marx

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MJL
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Sun May 22, 2011 12:33 pm

peetie44,

In 2009 I won a grant from the German Foreign Office to do some research in Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Denmark. During this time, especially when I was in Germany, I was able to have access to some of the best cigars the Cuban government is able to market. Indeed, for those Americans who never venture from our shores there are excellent tobacconists located in every single Hauptbahnhoff in Germany I ever stepped in. In fact most larger U-bahn stations in the major cities have pretty decent cigar selections. Although, I have to express high praise for the Cuban cigars I smoked I have to question the rationality behind paying 10 Euro up to 20 Euro for a single cigar. There comes a time when lowly sparsely compensated academics, like myself, cannot afford paying the prices needed to get Cuban cigars. Of course, I am not opposed to mooching free Cuban cigars but THAT is another story. Growing up, working and living in Miami, I have, of course, been exposed to the best cigar critics, rollers and company owners anywhere in the world. Indeed, memories of spending time at El Credito Tobaccos, walking down calle ocho to the old El Rey de La Fritas for a cafecito e frita are some of the fondest memories of my teenage years. What I have learned is that what makes a cigar great is a lot more than JUST the soil it was grown in. Indeed, I would rate the agricultural aspect, the fermentation/aging and the rolling of the tobacco about equal in importance. This said, there are superb cigar selection that can still be found that I think can compete head on with the Cuban rolled cigars.

daff
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Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:16 pm

wow...excellent post...I'm not so experienced in cigars (been smoking only for 2 years) and I mostly prefer cohiba cigars...what do you think of them?
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Capn Jimbo
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Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:35 pm

About a year or two ago I decided to revisit my youth when I'd buy a nice cigar daily from a old time tobacconist who'd recommend something different each day. As I tend to do, I did my usual extensive due diligence and amassed yet another collection of what I believed were good and moderately priced cigars.

Without going into detail of the many cigars I ended up smoking, the Fuente Hemmingways and their wonderful wrapper were always the most satisfying. But what really impressed me was the tremendous amount of labor that goes into the growing and management of cigars and their tobacco.

I would have to say that I know of no other natural product that seems to be so labor intensive, and/or that is so artful in its production. From the nuturing and replanting of the plant, to the daily care, to picking, sorting, storing, inspecting, et al. From the selections, rolling and presentation.

A true and complex art form. Seriously...
Regards,
Capn Jimbo
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