Memoir of a Novice

Spider66

Spider66

Joined Jan 2006
752 Posts | 0+
Kansas City
I am sure that there are many others like myself lurking around this forum that are new to cigar smoking. The advice that I have found on this forum has been very helpful, yet being new to all this, it can be a little intimidating. I thought that, if there are no objections, I would use this thread as a place to document my experience and fumbling as a new cigar smoker. It may help other new commers to know that they are not the only one trying to overcome the learning curve. And possibly they can learn from my own mistakes. I would invite others to share their novice learning experiences, and ecourage the experienced readers to share advice and help to answer the many questions that I, and others, are bound to have as we unravel the mystery of the cigar smoking experience.
I must tell you that I am not a writer, nor do I aspire to be. My spelling is quite bad, and my grammer is questionable at best. But if you will bear with me, maybe a lot of us newcomers can achieve that next level of cigar smoking.
 
What a great idea!




One thing that I learned was to smoke on a full stomach when you are a newbie. I learned this the hard way. :bigpuke:
 
one thing i learned was the value of samplers. a great way to try new cigars at a great price
 
Introduction

Let me start with a brief introduction of myself. I am a 34 year old father of two girls. I have lived most of my live in the Kansas City, Missouri area. The expecption to this is an enlistment in the United States Army. I spent six years as an helicopter mechanic, three of which, I was stationed at Wiesbaden, Germany. I feel it is important to note that I have been a nonsomker all of my life, until now. Because of this, I may be having a more difficult time adjusting to my new cigars than those that have smoked before. I was first introduced to cigar smoking this past summer while fishing with a friend. He smokes cigars to keep the bugs away. Seeing the logic in this, I decided to try it myself, and he ended up giving me the rest of his box. So it was that my first cigar was a machine rolled, White Owl New Yorker. (Now I know that many of you will shudder when reading this, but I do not regret having this as my first. It helps me better appreciate the hand rolled ones that I got next. And honestly, if not for that comparison, my first "fine" cigars would have been very disappointing.) Needless to say, I was not very impressed with my first smokes. Yet, the tactile experience of holding and smoking the cigar intrigued me, and I determined that I would know the pleasure of smoking a fine cigar. So it was that on Jan. 2nd (yes, two days ago) I went to my local smoke shop armed with some Holiday cash and the spirit of New Years Resolutions. About an hour later I left with five, mild bodied cigars of different brands, A new Calibri torch lighter and a Humidor on order. :rock:
 
spellen & grammer dont count for 2 much about here, the only hold back I see is your Army , GO NAVY , but since you were in the air part that makes it a little better, not a ground pounder, but I hope you got your share of Great Beer when you were in Germany!
I had my first cigar about 1955, switched to a pipe when I was in the Navy, just for storage space reasons, a 3 pound bag of good tobacco took up less room than 4 boxes of cigars & there was 10 times more to smoke . I enjoy coffee & scotch with my cigars , some times a little port, Yes PORT, one time- just one time I left out the R you would have thought I committed a crime !!! hahah & when the taste buds are dancing, port, brandy( I make my own , killer stuff ) , scotch, coffee , cigars & what ever else I can find to tickle the taste buds , any way welcome to the zoo ! Enjoy, Vince
 
My First Smokes

The five sticks I came home with as follows:
Helix
A. Fuente Gran Reserva
Fonseca
Don Diego
Flor de Oliva

The Tobaconist recomended that I start with mild cigars with a larger(50) ring size that would naturally burn cooler. I do most of my smoking out of doors, and am not able to commit two hours to a cigar ( I had no idea it took this long to smoke one) So he selected sizes in the Robusto range (5x50). That evening I sat down with the Helix (which he claimed was the mildest cigar in his inventory)and a glass of beer. I have to say that I was rather disappointed by the whole experience. This cigar, although noticibly of better construction that those White Owls, did not taste so "Fine" to me. I suppose I have to chalk this up to being a newbie though, as my palate is undeveloped, and I know that I probably did not do a very good job of lighting or smoking it correctly. I thought I would also note that the beer, although complimenting the taste, the coldness tended to dampen my taste buds. I think that a nice German beer at room temperature would have gone better.
The next evening I smoked the A. Fluente. I did not notice much difference and began to worry. But thanks to the helpful folks here, I learned that it may take a while for my palate to adjust to different cigars. (I also have to say that I rushed through the last part of this cigar. Doing this, especially on an empty stomach, will lead to dissiness and bouts of nausia :shock: )
I can neither criticize nor laud either of these two brands, for my palate could not do them justice. I know from what I have read here that especially the A. Fluente is a popular brand, and I will have to come back and try these again after I have seasoned a bit.
 
helix is extremely mild because it is flavorless. fuente is good but they also make some bland sticks. you should get some sticks from cusano, cao and oliva next time.
 
Samplers are the best thing out there but the problem I run into is I only know the brand and verry little about it. I ordered a sampler (where I had my first onxy from) and I smoked it loved it now I want to pick up a box but I dont know what size it is there are no shops conviently close to me just to pop in and take a look so now I am going to have to guess. But if you buy not in a smpler you know what you are getting just like I know i have a arturo fuente hemingway best seller. Sometimes it is better for knowledge but samplers are great. (the onyx is a simple example because when you get into brands like AF that have tons of lines of cigars it can be quite difficult looking up what you had esp if you already smoked it)
 
Bingo!

This morning I had what I would call my first pleasurable cigar experience. I sat down with my morning coffee and lit up my Fonseca. Again I can not say that it was because this was such a better cigar, or rather that I am just now beginning to aclimate to the smoking of a cigar, (I suspect the latter) but this was a nice smooth smoke. The heat and taste of coffee I found to be an enjoyable addition to my cigar. I was also able to "nose" this one, which did greatly enhance the flavor. I found that it was not too difficult if I took a nice draw on the cigar and held the smoke in my mouth until the heat was gone from it, then simply exhaled slowly through my nose. I did not experience any burning sensation doing it this way, and recomend that anyone who has not yet tried to "nose" their cigar to do so. I found it very pleasurable, especially with the mild cigar. I apologize for my wordiness here in the beginning. I will try to keep my future posts shorter and limited to contextual experiences
 
post a link to the sampler you bought, if there is a picture im sure we can figure out the size.
 
to ash or not to ash?

thank you all for joining this little thread. All of your coments and advice are well taken, and I hope that you will keep them comming (and humoring me too :lol: )

Now I have a question. I find it hard to resist "thumping" the ash from my cigar when it gets about 1/2 inch long. Is this a bad practice? and if so, could you explain why?


I also seem to have trouble with an even burn. my cigars seem to "run" up one side faster than the other. I am sure it is due to the way I light it, but any advice is welcome. is there any way to correct this once it has begun? can I "re-light" the slow side so that it catches up, or will this ruin the smoke?
 
I suggest you check out the Lighting Cigars 101 thread by CastleCrest. It's so nice to take your time with the smoke.

Also, I found this site that might help you keep a cigar journal:

http://www.cigargroup.com/register.htm

click on the "journal.pdf" and the "size.pdf"

Oh, and with cigars I'm not familiar with I copy the info from the box to help me remember what I smoked.
 
moving up...

Also, I found this site that might help you keep a cigar journal:
Click to expand...

Thanks, Brenda. I have tried to keep a journal of sorts, but this will be much more organized.

Hello and welcome, just saw the thread and I think it is a very good idea. When a cigar isn't burning evenly, I usually just take my colibri and torch the side that isn't burning correctly. You could also let the cigar go out, then relight but the previous method works just as well on the go.

The ash, you can do whatever you like. I sometimes like testing the cigar by seeing how long the ash can go before it falls off. Dancing with death sometimes as the ash generally lands right in the middle of my shirt or lap. Ash whenever you please. Most times, I ash enough so that the ash isn't falling off everywhere.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, Bobberific.

I am anxious to try some of the many sticks that you all rave about, but am leery of expensive cigars beeing wasted on my newbie palate. (Especially since a good portion of my expendible income currently goes to the local Harley-Davidson dealer...hehe :twisted: )Do you think it is too soon to try some more flavorful sticks(ie. medium to full bodied)?
 
Welcome!

As Brenda said - check out that thread - and probably any started by Castle Crest. I have learned a ton from his posts!

Oh and of course, BP's posts. You may not learn much but you will laugh your butt off.

Good luck..looking forward to reading your journal.
 
Re: Introduction

Spider66 said:
He smokes cigars to keep the bugs away. Seeing the logic in this, I decided to try it myself, and he ended up giving me the rest of his box. So it was that my first cigar was a machine rolled, White Owl New Yorker.quote]

Not as bad as mine. I smoked a Macanudooo.
Click to expand...
 
nah, not too soon for some medium stuff. they might nock you on your butt though.
 
Humidor????

My next question is about my humidor. I have ordered a new humidor to arrive next week sometime, and I am wondering if there is anything I will need to do it before I start using it? It comes with Diamond Crown humidification device and a hygrometer.(not sure what that all means yet, but I guess I will figure it out when it gets here)
 
IMHO, Diamnond crown is the BEST non-mechanical humidification device out. I have two of them, and I have never been let down.
 
humidification device=sponge
hygrometer=kindof like a thermometer but it measures humidity in the air. if it is not a digital hygrometer stick it back in the box and return to sender with a note inside telling them not to send you their garbage.

when you get the humidor it will probly come with instructions on prepping it. basicaly you put some DISTILLED water in the sponge and put a bowl of water in the humidor, leave the lid closed for a couple days then remove the bowl of water and fill it with cigars, make sure the sponge is still moist. then you will get to do it again with another humidor when you buy it.
 
Does anyone have any experience with Reed and Barton Humidors? I have the Concord comming

http://www.reedandbarton.com/Products/Chests/singleHumidors.asp?StartingPoint=2&RecordCount=5#top

These things are pricy, but my Fiance' got it for me at cost. And no, jihiggs, it does not have a digital hygrometer. I can always ghange it out later can't I?
 
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