Hey everybody,
I am sitting here, thinking back to when I first
started smoking cigars. It was in the 1980's. I was going trying to get off a drug, I refuse to utter it's name, but it was part of what killed John Belushi. My friend, who was there to help, told me to find a crutch. He gave me a H. Upman. I smoked, and chewed on it. Everytime The cravings got bad, he would give me one. I hated those things as much as I loved the drug I was trying to quit.
One day I was having a fit, turned out it was my third day off the ****, and he was out. We stopped in to a smoke shop, and he told me to pick out a cigar. I did, and prepared to be disappointed. I loved it.
I still have a very expensive habit, but at least I am alive well and sane enough to enjoy it.
Later
Dave
P.S.
The cigar was an A.F. Short Story, and the drug started with a C. Love those Hemis.

first cigar to impress me was a monte #5 that cigar store owner gave me. when he got in a box of them which he said he never ordered and assumed it was shipped to him in a big order by mistake, i paid him a little under $100.00.

that was almost 10 yeas ago.


since then i have smoked every thing from bad frogs, funjky looking, to isom cohiba lanceros at $15.00 ea, to monte "a" at close to $30.00 ea, and 2 of those special, lost in a warehouse and stored properly, i believe they were partagas and they were $30.00 ea.

mag sent me a gift of a bohemian revolution predator and i have been smoking them, i bought 12 boxes here on auction in the last month, constantly. (bad sentence structure rick.) i bought my first box from ci at full retail and have been adding to my collection until i have a stack of them 8 foot high.

it is getting harder and harder to buy them here for under $50. an ammo box full. i calibrated the hygrometer and use only the humidifier that came with it, and the little bugger is holding right at 70%

send me your snailer and i'll send you a little taste.

RICKAMAVEN
HOTMAIL
COM

Hey Rick, got your package about 5 days ago, as I posted earlier, you gave me the advice on the Humidor. Cigars have been in the humidor for about 5 days now. Have the Bohemian you sent, seems to be a pretty dense cigar. It's pretty hard, like it's overfilled or maybe a little dried out from the trip. Should I leave it in the Humi for another week or is this normal. Want to give this cigar a go. You sent a couple of square pressed torps with it, what are those.

Thanks again for the advice, and the generous assortment

oh ya,

It was a Monty #2(ISOM) that caught my attention. It was in a tub. Prefer Uppman or Partagas, but that Monty was Just great. Smoked it till my fingers burnt

First cigar I truely 'enjoyed' was a Butera. Don't know the make/model, but I was sitting in a little shop outside of Atlanta (Cartersville) in a leather couch and a relaxing atmosphere. I think back to that day now and just want to thank the owner of that shop for introducing me to such a relaxing experience. I think I might drive back down there soon just to let him know. (And perhaps pick up another Butera)

Brazilia Amazon.

limoric

"pretty dense" cut the end and smoke it. it should draw perfectly even though it's packed full. i have yet to have a problem after a boxful. the rollers just know how to pack a lot of leaves and leave out (pun intended) the petioles. no hotspots and no holes.

the little square torpedos are alhambra's. not at auction at the moment. they were $4.00 a box and i sold several of the empty boxes somewhere on a competitor site. they are hard to keep lit, even though they are on the dry side. for 16 cents a stick, you don't get coffee and desert.

Have smoked off and on casually since about '72. Never paid any attention or got serious about them until recently. My first real attention getter has to be Dunhill Altamiras (Tubos). My mouth felt like I was sucking on a stick of sweet butter it was so creamy. Talk about some rich thick smoke!

The first cigar that caught my attention was the Cuesta Rey no 95. I bought a three pack of them at Osco Drug. They were the first real hand-rolled cigars that I had ever had. I bit the end off of one and smoked it in the car on the way to my house. It was mild and delicious.


J

First cigar was a Santa Damiana Connecticut...was during the cigar boom so i believe i paid something like $13 back then...was creamy and smooth...and just the thing to hook me...

Funny thing is that i picked up a couple of 5 packs here a couple of weeks ago for $9 (not each, the whole 5-pack)...oh have the times have changed...and that is not a complaint....

Anyways, now smoke more medium to fuller bodied cigars...but once in a while i will light a Santa Daminana and it really does take me back...

RasDas

First to grab me was a Montecristo #2 that one of the guys in my squadron traded with a Cuban guard in Gitmo for a carton of Marlboros a couple of pairs of Levis, He two boxes of Monties and a box of Partagas and we had a ball smoking them. I was a Navy Lieutenant at the time and of course we were not supposed to trade with the Cubans.

Charlie

One year at Christmas time, a business aquaintance asked me if I were a cigar smoker ... I told him "yes" although in more than 10 years of being a smoker, I really had never bought or smoked more than perhaps a cigar a month and was really more of a pipe smoker ... as a Christmas gift, he sent me a box of what he said were his favorite smokes ... Habano-made Romeo y Julietas that were maybe 6x42 or 44 ...

Yeah ... it's safe to say, those grabbed me

The first cigar to make me a regular was an overpriced boom brand called VSOP. Not a particularly great (or even good cigar), but it opened up the world of variety and complexity that cigar smoking brings. Been sampling new stuff ever since.

The real story here is Dave's moving tale. Thanks for sharing and I applaud your strength and success.

The cigar that first really captured my imagination was a Juan Clemente, which had a great spicy, peppery flavor. Although I had been thoroughly enjoying such standards as Santa Rosa and Royal Jamaica those many years ago, the Juan Clemente introduced me to the true possibilities of cigar flavors.

RICKAMAVEN

Will do. Not the first time I've come across a tightly packed smoke, but your right, some know how to roll a lot of leaves between the rapper. Will smoke tonight

limoric

start a new thread and give your review to the whole world. everyone likes to read reviews, good or bad.

I remember pilfering my 1st from my dad who had a box of White Owls when I was about 10 and smoking it behind the tool shed.
The first really great smoke was a Dunhill Little Chico that came about 10/tin and I selected them because I was going on a backpacking/fishing trip and needed something that would not crush in the pack. After a day in which I caught and released about 70 smallmouths on anAz. river, we sat around a campfire and lit the Dunhills. Won't ever forget that one!
DED

I've smoked a lot of cigars, but I've never had one sprout arms and grab me! Sounds like you might want to ziplock those cigars of yours to kill those beetles!

Though I started cigars with the Acids, it was the Sinatra My Way that really got me going. Not saying it is the best cigar in the world, but it was good enough that it started my appetite for "the leaf."

Homebrew. Glad to hear you found a better partner in the leaf and not the powder. We need you here to run the birthday club.. and give reviews.. and crash trucks.

Dan

I remember the first girl to grab me.

But, the cigar that got me into smoking had to be 5 vegas. Bought a box and was hooked to smoking since.

choner