Your First Stick

**Loudpipes78** · 10-20-2006, 10:22 AM

Tell us about it. How old were you? What were you doing? Where were you? What was it? Did you decide to just go pick up a smoke on your own or (most likely I think) did somebody get you into it? Did you like it? Hate it? How long till you smoked again?

I had my first cigar with my Dad back in 96ish when I brought 2 back from my mission trip to Mexico. I had to have been 14 or 15 at the time and I felt to cool for school sitting there having a cigar like an adult. My Dad taught me the proper way to cut it, toast the end, and then light it with matches of course. Pops is the one that started me down this very long avenue of my life. I still currently have the tube in my desk drawer of the cigar and it was a Private Reserve Antonio y Cleopatra Supreme handrolled in the Dominican Republic. I can't tell you anything of the taste of it, the quality, etc but I do know it was a huge bonding experience for us.

After that first cigar I might have had 2 more before my 18th birthday mainly because of my age, it was something reserved for a very special occassion. It took a good friend to really get me into starting to smoke cigars more and expand my horizons, at the time I was still all about the RyJ and a nice light smoke while he was into trying new things and gravitated to La Gloria Cubana Series R Maduros. The first time I tried one... wow... what a difference... super strong smoke that actually made me a lil' woozy. As I tried darker/stronger cigars I noticed my tastes started to change and grow, too.

Looking back on that first cigar is one of the cigars I treasure the most now because it was the first of 3 I ever got to share with my Father. My Dad unfortunately got quite sick after I moved off to college and was on Oxygen almost constantly by the time I really started getting into cigars. Everytime I light up I still think back to that first one on the deck we built and it made me wonder if I was the only one that had a really significant or memorable first smoke. Unfortunately those 3 cigars will be all that I will ever get to share with my Dad because tomorrow will mark the 2.5 year anniversary of his passing.

P.s. Yes I borrowed some of this from my newb thread but I figured Your First Smoke would be a great topic.

bigpoppapuff · 10-20-2006, 10:50 AM

though my dad was a cigar smoker (and owned a cigar store),i never started 'til i was 21 or 22.....a&c dark grenadiers and once in a while garcia y vega....it was a few years later that i moved on to hand rolled.....

**sprangalang** · 10-20-2006, 11:19 AM

I had my first cigar when I was 12 or 13. My friend lifted a pack from the local mini-mart. It was some cheap-assed sweet cherry dimestore rocket, I don't remember. Made me green like pea soup, I remember that. Then 8 or 9 years later, I worked at a liquor store, and got to try some "nice" cigars. A&C Grenadiers, Berings, stuff like that. I thought those Berings were it! After all they had a cool aluminum tube!
Then another 15yrs later, I had a neighbor, who introduced me to the real world of cigars. He turned me on to some decent smokes. We moved a few years later, and with no smoking buddy, I laid off em again for another 10 yrs. Then went fishing with a buddy on Lake Michigan. Got a little green

from the chop. My buddy's cousin brought some A&Cs (cheapies). I figured what the hell, what do I have to loose, 'cept my cookies, and the damn thing actually settled my stomach. That experience of total misery transformed to bliss, set me onto them again.

**Dru Lee Parsec** · 10-20-2006, 12:26 PM

I don't remember the exact stick. But I remember the friend I had it with. Rick and I started noticing the wonders of single malt scotch whiskey at about the same time. Rick was going through a really tough divorce and I think he needed something refined in his life. Good whiskey and an occasional cigar were his answer. Heck, it beats buying a little red car and growing a pony tail.

OK, he did buy a fast little car and *I* had the pony tail at the time, but I'm digressing.

So he'd come over to my place and we'd work in my woodshop for a while. My wife would make us a good dinner to make sure that Rick was eating well at least once a week or so. Then, after dinner we'd sit on the patio and smoke a cigar and sip some whiskey. I probably only did this 4 or 5 times but it opened up my mind to the world of cigars. Before, I'd probably never even think of trying one since I wasn't a smoker.

Then my wife and I went on a vacation to La Paz Mexico with our friends Susan and David. David and I bought what were alledgedly Cuban cigars (I still don't know how to tell a real one from a fake) But I know they did cost us about $10 US per stick which is expensive in Mexico.

They may have been fake or they may have been real. But whatever it was the term "Creamy" finally made sense to me. There were flavors of dark chocolate and cream and something darker. Almost like leather but not quite that taste. It did seem that this cigar was very different from anything I'd had before. It was much better.

So honestly, I have no idea if what I was smoking were decent cigars or just expensive dog rockets.

In any case, Rick moved on and we lost touch with each other. I havn't smoked a cigar in probably 6 or 7 years.

A friend of mine just gave me a cigar as a gift last month and I couldn't stand it. I thought it was just aweful. Oddly enough, that bad experience made me start thinking about the good experiences I had before. I remember sitting on the deck with friends smoking and drinking and having great conversations and I want to do that again.

So that's why I'm slowly getting back into cigars. I have a Cuban Crafters humidifier and 15 cigar sample pack that's suppose to be arriving on Monday. Once I stabilize the humidor and let the smokes settle for a bit I'm looking forward to trying the different cigars to see how they taste vary from one to the next.

**chefchris** · 10-20-2006, 12:35 PM

I remember the first premium I had was a Don Diego, and i hated it. It was just awful. I don't remember what it was about it, seeing how I was brand new, but man i hated it. i'm glad i didn't decide to stop there, cause I'd be missing out.

**ashauler** · 10-20-2006, 01:51 PM

I smoked my first "real" cigar on July 3 of this year. I had a horrible cig habit that I desperately wanted to get rid of and I saw somewhere that some people had used cigars to help them, so I thought I would give it a shot. Besides, chewing wasn't for me and I couldn't sleep worth a shit on the patch or gum.

The only other person that I knew who smoked cigars with any regularity was my bro-in-law, and since a grape Philly blunt is his idea of a fine smoke, I decided to forgo any advice and just pick a couple and give it a shot. The local b/m had a 40% off table so that is where I started. I picked up a Quorum corona and a Flor de Oliva maduro toro. As my luck would hold (bad) I tried the Quorum first......and hated it. Very harsh and somewhat bitter. Put it out about 1/2 way through. Still wasn't smoking cigs so by the next morning, I was Jonsing pretty good for some nicotine, so I fired up the FdO.......yum,yum,yummy. I definitely have the bug now and look forward to the next new experience with cigars. Since then I have purchased a humidor and a sampler from Thompson cigars and gone to a cigar auction so I have tried quite a few different smokes and am finding out what I like and don't like.

BTW, I have scored a major victory in my war against nicotine dependence.....I smoked NOTHING yesterday, and delayed my smoke today until my lunch hour when I could relax and enjoy the entire smoke.......no hurried puffing just to get some nic in the system.

I'm really "gettin' it" I think. I don't have any smoking buddies locally yet, so I have developed a solitary routine to help ensure that I am smoking for the PLEASURE and not the need. I appreciate all the fine BOTL that hang out here as this is kind of a support for me and really points out and reinforces that smoking cigars is a social/relaxation/enjoyment thing, with its own lingo, etiquette, ect. One day, I hope to feel a part of this brotherhood and contribute to others enjoyment, as much as this board has helped me.

**jiaguy** · 10-20-2006, 02:44 PM

Hmm it was after drinking in High School we were on a lake when my friend pulled out some "cubans" he got from a girl for his birthday...They turned out to be Gloria Cubana if I recall correctly, I managed to accidentally put mine out on my arm, the scar is still there

.

**Loudpipes78** · 10-20-2006, 02:49 PM

Awesome stories so far... I think this is a topic that always comes up the first time I smoke with somebody so I figured why not kick it around here.

Jiaguy... I had somebody bump into me at a club about a month ago and it looks like I'm going to have a nice cigar scar from my cherry on the side of my middle finger on my left hand. Good thing I was slightly tipsy at the time or it would have hurt like fawk.

**Evillepaintball** · 10-20-2006, 04:16 PM

My first was in June. I had just turned 18 and wanted to do something that my new age allowed me to do. So I went to google and began researching. I eneded up ordering a Romeo y Julieta Vintage #3, an AF Don Carlos, and an H. Upmann Monarch tubo. I went out onto the roof of my garage one night with the RyJ and lit up. I liked it so I smoked the other 2. I've been loving it ever since.

**ScoopKW** · 10-20-2006, 05:49 PM

I was writing a newspaper article about the "cigar boom" in the late 1990s. The owners of Caribbean Cigar Company gave me a Santiago Cabana -- I never looked back.

**slcraiders** · 10-20-2006, 06:10 PM

I prolly smoked the first stick at age 11 or 12- dutch master I am pretty sure. la la

Then again at 13-15- same thing

Lots of weed and cigarettes between, I smoked several low-grade cigars.

Two summers ago, I thought Makers Mark, Kahlua and Cojimar were the shit. I bought a 50 ct humidor and would show off my Cojimar sugar dipped collection. Impressive.

Then I started in on Hemingways and such. Local TinderBox owners were accross the street from my in-laws.

Then I joined this board late-late last year.

Since then. I have bought on one box after the next. I still like hemingways and the like, but even more, I like something richer and stronger:
Ashton VSGs, JDNs, Tatuajes, Padron and Opus.

**Brewdude** · 10-22-2006, 01:36 PM

I remember it well.

I was working graveyard at A.O. Smith running punch press in Mil, WI where I lived at the time. I was like 21 or so. Never liked cigs, but the vending machine sold 5 pks of small coronas. Regular, Cherry, and Blueberry. I tried them all but liked Blueberry the best. Hell, what did I know back then! Never smoked them often, and gave it up altogether for 10 yrs or so.

Sometime later in the mid-80s, I was travelling to the UK frequenty on annual vacations. My good friend was really into cigars and asked me to bring him back some Cubans. So I'd return with 4 or 5 and always kept one for myself. So each year I'd smoke 1 cigar, but never understood why anyone would like them. They just didn't taste very good to me then.

Then about 10 yrs later in the early days of the boom I was at a gathering of fellow brewers. After the supper we adjourned to the garage and one guy produced a big bag of cigars and everyone took one. Wanting to be socialable, I did as well.

All I remember is mine was a churchill, and tasted sooooo good! I now understood what the big deal was and started buying samplers from a magazine ad. Soon after I found JR, and later Mikes. My stash started growing and started my first cooler.

It wasn't until about '02 or so that I learned of the on-line thing and eventually joined the JRBB 6 mo before it shut down. That sure expanded my horizens! I migrated to HP and continued to learn more and found many e-tailers.

And the rest is history.

**cigar no baka** · 10-22-2006, 10:17 PM

My very first stick was a machine rolled, as that's what my dad always smoked. My very first premium stick was a CAO L'anniversiare (I know that's spelled wrong!!). Loved it and got into premium sticks right after that.

**Desert Rat** · 10-23-2006, 01:45 AM

Had my first stick in '73, an R&J.

I will pause while some of you younger folks do some math......

Liked it alot and have been puffing away ever since.

This thread reminds me of some of the best cigars I ever smoked:

My buddies and I would go down to Ensenada regularly (still do) and I had this ritual:

Right after arriving in Ensenada and shortly before proceeding to blotto land, I would get a Mexican hair cut, a Mexican boot shine and buy a cigar before heading into the bar. All this took place right next to a famous bar in Ensenada called Hussongs, and would cost like $5.

Sitting in that bar, with my amigos, fresh hair cut, shiny boots, the first ice cold cervesa with a wedge of lime and puffing on a stogie was the best feeling in the world. I could be king until the king couldnt stand anymore from tooo many cervesa's

.

I still go down there and do the same stuff, but its expensive, I know the cigars are fake, and me and the amigos are all old farts.

Cigars change, life changes, I get something different from my cigars now than in my youth

.

**lrharry29** · 10-25-2006, 03:01 PM

I had my first stick when I was 19 or 20. I bought it from a B & M in southern California. I just walked into the store and asked the person behind the counter what would be a good cigar to start out with. He walked into the humidor with me and pointed out good starters. I picked up 3 or 4 sticks. I remember a Punch, H. Upmann and a couple of others (I have forgotten what they were). At the time I really didn't know what I was looking for.

The first stick I smoked was one of the nameless ones. It was an outstanding smoke, it had a nice mellow taste, with what seemed like a nutty flavor. It wasn't a flavored stick but it was aromatic. This was about 11 years ago and since then I have been on a crusade to find this cigar. Eventually one day I will find it.

**mithril** · 10-26-2006, 07:25 AM

a diablo when i was 20 was my first stick. i haven't had one since but i want to find one more.

**dHUTCH** · 10-26-2006, 04:30 PM

I guess it was sometime after I turned 18...went into local place to pick up a friend a pack of cigs and I noticed they had a lil humidor in there. So, I picked me up a Helix of some sort. Some what liked it but, it wasnt the greatest thing I'd ever experienced. Later on that month I had a chance to go into a local cigar shop and I picked up a RyJ of some sort and man did I hate it! I have yet to smoke any other RyJ since that day. I've since found 2 cigars that would make any shitty day turn into an awesome one!

Of course I'm still exploring and I'll probably find a few more cigars that I like just as much as the Java, and the La Gloria Cubana #4 Maduro, but only time will tell with that.

**randomhero** · 01-13-2007, 03:33 AM

I was 16 and I was on a cruise. We stopped in Cozumel and there was a small shop with a walk in humidor. I went in to check it out and my dad followed me in. He told me he'd buy me one which I thought was crazy(parents were really strict and both parents didn't smoke at all). He ended up buying me a $21 Cohiba(probably fake but the shop was really nice and had a full humifier setup.) That was only 2 years ago though. My girlfriend just bought me a 50 ct humidor with digital hygrometer so I gotta start filling it up with stuff other than Punch seconds, Acids, and Pure Indios. I need some expensive stuff!!

**Leeroy_Fan** · 01-16-2007, 02:43 PM

When i was 14, i had a Swisher Sweet. I liked it...at the time. Had people buy them for me for a while until i turned 18. Then i started smoking real cigars. Next cigar after that was a CAO gold. I've been hooked ever since.

**Habsrule29** · 01-17-2007, 03:12 PM

My first was a 99 cent Century Sam from a plastic drum sitting on a counter top of a 7-11. My buddy and each had one as we drove to a hockey tournament together. It tasted like crap. The next was a Cohiba that the same friend brought home with him when he honeymooned in Cuba. I realized a few years later that it was a fake, but it was still a damn good cigar. The next time I had one was 4 yrs ago when I honeymooned in Cuba. I brought back a box of RyJ Mille Fleurs and a box of RASCC and I have been hooked ever since.