[Joe Sr.]

We need a thread on cigars.

I'm enjoying an Upmann Havoc right now, while sipping a saison which I just kegged.  It might go better with a bourbon... The cigar, not the saison.

The kids, wife, and MIL are watching the Oscars in the other room. So I have time to slip out back (not smoking it in the house, that's not allowed).

Anyone else smoking a stogie tonight?

[yso191]

We need a thread on cigars.

Anyone else smoking a stogie tonight?

Agreed.  My favorite when I feel I can spend the $$ is the Liga Privada T-52.  I usually smoke in the $5 range; Perdomos, CAO's, or Gurkhas.  Tonight will be a CAO Brazilia Gol, though this box is not as good as previous boxes.

[erockrph]

Alas, I haven't had a cigar in years. I just don't have the kind of free time to enjoy a good smoke since parenthood started. I've also come to the conclusion that smoking one blows out my palate for a day or two. So as much as I enjoy the combo of stogies and scotch, I've been making do with scotch on its own in recent years.

I have been tempted recently because I see that my favorite cigar from way back in the mid-90's cigar boom is back on the market - Flor de Florez. Their Miami Blend was the best cigar I ever smoked. They vanished in the late 90's/early 00's, but it looks like they're back now. I think I still have an unopened box of their old Cabinet Selection, but I doubt they're in decent shape at this point, since they haven't been stored in the best of conditions.

[majorvices]

Garcia Y Garcia My Father series are probably my favorite cigars. I have other ones I really like as well but those are my go to. Brickhouse cigars are also high on the list.

I recently started smoking a (tobacco ) pipe and very much enjoy that. The nice thing about a pipe is that, with cigars, sometimes I light one and only really want a few puff and waste much of a $10 cigar. With the pipe you can smoke as much or as little as you want. And pipe tobacco is much less expensive but you can get very high quality tobacco.

[pete b]

I used to smoke cigarettes and I'm afraid smoking cigars will result in cravings so I abstain.

[Phil_M]

I smoke cigars infrequently enough to have not yet developed a real preference for any particular styles/brands. That being said, my favorite buy for the money has been to get some Gran Habano "top ten" samplers and stow them away in the humidor for a while.

+1 to pipe tobacco as well, I've made myself sick off cigars, so the option to have a shorter smoke is nice. I also don't get that terrible cigar cotton mouth/burnt aftertaste from pipes.

[yso191]

I used to smoke cigarettes and I'm afraid smoking cigars will result in cravings so I abstain.

I used to smoke cigarettes too.  It was a long time ago though.  I smoked from about age 12 to 19.  That was in the 70's.  So after ~25 years of not smoking I picked up cigars.  I don't inhale, and have NO desire to, and NO desire for cigarettes.

There are two contexts where I really enjoy a cigar: one is while having a conversation.  It makes me less antsy to get up and do something because I am doing something while talking.  It also is a great way to get together with a guy friend.  Rather than saying "Let's get together and talk (shudder), I say "Got time for a stick?"

The other context is as a reward for having finished some job or a hard day of work - that sort of thing.

[majorvices]

I used to smoke cigarettes as well from teenage years up until I was about 25. I actually used cigars to get off cigarettes. That said I was never a heavy cigarette smoker, a pack would last me a week usually. The real problem quitting smoking for me was when I was drinking I would crave a smoke, that's where the cigars came in.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

been a long time since I had cigar...has to be 5+ years. I ended up feeling like they destroyed my entire palate and ability to taste anything after having one..food or drink after tasted like cigar.

Guess end of the day I chose food and drink.

[flbrewer]

No sir! Well there was brief period years and years ago where a friend introduced me to quality cigars, got a humidor, etc. One cigar on the weekends turned into 2 which turned into a nightly thing with a scotch. I think I was hooked on the junk for a good 6 months.

I had to cut it out completely and even today that smell still triggers something in me. They are fun, but the amount of nicotine and smoke you are dealing with even while not inhaling is too risky for this guy. I'll let the beers kill me.

[jeffy]

I smoked cigarettes for 20 years, sometimes 2 packs a day.  I quit in 1990, just after my Dad died of lung cancer.  Curiously, 1990 is when I first noticed a diminishing sense of smell.  I wonder if the smoke kept my nasal polyps in check, but I do not wonder so much that I am going to start smoking again.
I have a cigar maybe four to six times a year, but I just had one Saturday afternoon, reading Zymurgy and enjoying a homebrewed imperial Porter.  It was a very nice afternoon.

[majorvices]

been a long time since I had cigar...has to be 5+ years. I ended up feeling like they destroyed my entire palate and ability to taste anything after having one..food or drink after tasted like cigar.

Guess end of the day I chose food and drink.

If I have a cigar it is at night after dinner and I'l be drinking a whiskey. I do not think many beers pair well with a cigar.

[Joe Sr.]

been a long time since I had cigar...has to be 5+ years. I ended up feeling like they destroyed my entire palate and ability to taste anything after having one..food or drink after tasted like cigar.

Guess end of the day I chose food and drink.

If I have a cigar it is at night after dinner and I'l be drinking a whiskey. I do not think many beers pair well with a cigar.

I like them at night while sitting around the fire pit.  Whiskey, port, armagnac.  Something like that goes well.

I'll also enjoy them while doing yard work, since I'm out of the house and can take the opportunity.  Or on the golf course.  They do a nice job keeping the skeeters away.

I've found that if you're worried about wrecking your palate you can choose a smoother cigar (not necessarily a lighter color wrapper) and also make sure you don't smoke it down to to nub.

Personally, I prefer a lighter cigar if it's during the day or a nice maduro in the evening (Hoyo de Monterey, Excalibur #2).  At most, I'll smoke one a week.  But even that often is rare, particularly in the colder months.

[ethinson]

I used to smoke often enough to warrant a humidor, which I still have but it's not set up.  Now I may have 2-3 a year on special occasions, trips, etc but I know what I like. 

I'm a Macanudo man.  Vintage if I can find one, but regular Conn. shade is fine.  Don't like Maduro.  Usually go for a Hyde Park but sometimes smaller, depending on the occasion.  I agree with the conversation with a good friend.  Sitting out on the back porch with a cigar and a glass of whiskey.  Not much better in the world. 

Romeo y Juliettas are also nice and my best friend is partial to an Arturo Fuente Hemingway which is also a nice stick.

Favorite cigar smoking experience was in New Orleans, right on Canal street.  Can't remember the name of the shop but they only carried their House brand, but they would help you pick something based on what you liked.  At the time (not sure anymore) you could smoke inside.  Leather couch sitting inside, but the entire front of the store was wide open french doors open to the street.  Sitting there enjoying a smoke, watching the world go by, music drifting in from the French Quarter across the street.  That was an incredible night.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

been a long time since I had cigar...has to be 5+ years. I ended up feeling like they destroyed my entire palate and ability to taste anything after having one..food or drink after tasted like cigar.

Guess end of the day I chose food and drink.

If I have a cigar it is at night after dinner and I'l be drinking a whiskey. I do not think many beers pair well with a cigar.

I like them at night while sitting around the fire pit.  Whiskey, port, armagnac.  Something like that goes well.

I'll also enjoy them while doing yard work, since I'm out of the house and can take the opportunity.  Or on the golf course.  They do a nice job keeping the skeeters away.

I've found that if you're worried about wrecking your palate you can choose a smoother cigar (not necessarily a lighter color wrapper) and also make sure you don't smoke it down to to nub.

Personally, I prefer a lighter cigar if it's during the day or a nice maduro in the evening (Hoyo de Monterey, Excalibur #2).  At most, I'll smoke one a week.  But even that often is rare, particularly in the colder months.

I get it...I've enjoyed them and had some top notch cigars-everything from mild to robust. When I lived in Europe, I had access to cuban's. There's a great cigar shop in Amsterdam (P. G. C. Hajenius) that is world famous and has some of the best cigars from all around. It was a stop for Arnold Schwarzenegger-had his signed pic and the signature in the thick log book they have with guest signatures and comments.

I wont turn a good one down if the occasion and circumstances nudge me.