Another Newbie Joins the ranks

[Dru Lee Parsec]

Hi folks:

Well, I must have past the background check, the fingerprinting and the retinal eye scan because my account has finally been validated. So now I can stop lurking and become a full fledged newbie cigar guy.

Things I've learned already from lurking:

A) Learn from Ruger's poor example and don't ask silly questions. If you do, just say "Sorry about that". Threatening people is almost never the right course of action.

B) Stay away from Acid cigars (But the packaging looks so X-Treem)

C) Cuban Crafters do, in fact, make good, cheap humidors. Cool, that's good to know.

D) There's this strange and wonderful place called CBID. I checked it out and it's overwhelming. I have no idea what makes a good cigar yet and there are SO MANY!

E) This hobby would nest together nicely with my long standing fondness for single malt whiskeys and high end bourbons (You guys really must try Buffalo Trace. It makes that Maker's Mark stuff taste like gasoline).

F) I have no idea what persimmons, termites, raisons, or mice have to do with cigars. I assume it's part of some pagen ritual. Is nudity and dancing around campfires somehow involved?


So here's my cigar history. I've smoked perhaps a dozen cigars in my life. But I'm proud (and even a bit smug) to say that I have never touched a swisher sweet or any of those other supermarket atrocities. Unfortunatly, I havn't kept any record of what those smokes were. I must say that with at least half of the cigars I had I was more involved with the glass of scotch than the smoke.

During a vacation in Mexico I did have what was alledgedly a cuban cigar. That was the first time that I understood how the term "creamy" could relate to the taste of a cigar. It definatly was a very different and very good taste. But the stack of empty margarita glasses on the table in front of me may have clouded my judgement a bit. If that was a true Cuban then I think I caught a glimpse of what all the fuss is about. Even with my newbie pallette I could tell there was something special there.

So a couple of weeks ago a friend gave out presents during her birthday (great Idea I think. She gave out presents to thank all her friends just for being cool friends). All the guys got a Garo Habano cigar. As far as I remember I've never had one. So a few nights ago I lit it up and I have to say that I was not in the right frame of mind to have a cigar. I think I was just overwhelmed with the smell, tast, and nicotine hit. My head was buzzing hard after only a few puffs. And it simply would not stay lit if I put it down for more than 30 seconds or so.

I finaly came to the conclusion that I was not enjoying the experience and I let it die. Considering the darker color of the wrapper I'm guessing that perhaps that particular cigar was probably too "full bodied" for a noob. I probably needed something more mellow.

So here's my plan to experience cigars in a more appropriate fashion:

I'm going to get the Cuban Crafters 15 cigar sampler with the small humidor. I'll get a 50-50% poly glycol/distilled water solution and prime my humidor. Then I'll let the cigars rest in the humidor for 1 or 2 weeks before trying them out. I think I'll start with the Don Kiki Green label since I've read here that it's a pretty mellow cigar and is probably a good starter cigar. And this time I'm going to set aside the time to sit and really enjoy the smoke AND I'll keep a little journal of what my impressions are of the smoke.

Then, after trying several of the sampler cigars, I can say "I like this aspect of this cigar and I didn't like this aspect of this other cigar. Knowing that, what would you guys suggest for my next 5 pack?"


Or I may just drink some scotch and smoke a cigar and enjoy the moment.

In any case, it's good to meet you all.

Greg