I just joined this site a couple of days ago. I live in the Houston area but have a small place just west of College Station that I use as an escape from the city. This is where most of my cigar consumption occurs. I am not a cigar expert, aficionado, or experienced in the finer aspects of cigar smoking. I joined this board because I had some specific questions and was looking for help. I am in my early 50’s and started smoking cigars about 20 years ago while doing work in the Dominican Republic. I prefer a Leon Jimenes only because that is one of the first smokes I really enjoyed and I don’t really smoke enough to jump around. I also enjoy an inexpensive smoke called a curly head by AF.

I took my family on a cruise 2 weeks ago and spent a significant amount of time with a cigar. There were Cubans available everywhere, especially Cohiba, but I assumed most if not all were knock-offs. I purchased and smoked several Dominican Montecristo.

Years ago I had the opportunity to try a Partigas 150 and liked it better than anything I had ever smoked. They were relatively inexpensive back then ($11/Churchill) and I didn’t really know much about them. Only the fact that they were a great smoke. Couldn’t find any on the cruise so I decided I would try once I got home. I discovered that no one sells them individually anymore any they can only be purchased by the box. I saw that Thompson sells them and I have ordered other cigars through them before but for this amount of money I wanted to do a little homework before committing any funds. This is the primary reason I joined this board. Secondarily I have discovered that when one is philosophically in tune with others on something like cigars then there will be similarities in other areas like rum consumption, fishing, hunting, etc. I may be off base but these are all things I enjoy and I was hoping to find people on this board with the same interests and with increased knowledge on cigars that they were willing to share.
Good morning and thanks for allowing me this time on your board.

JC