Hey Guys,
So, I've been reading the boards here for years, and have been posting quite a bit lately so I figure now is as good a time as any to finally introduce myself.
Here is a little about me.
My name is Dan, I started smoking cigars about 7 or 8 years ago when I was 17 years old working at a Mobil gas station that sold the cheap generic cigars, as well as some Macanudos, Cohibas and Montecristos. I started out with the Backwoods as many people do, and then took a large step up to the ever popular "Black and mild", you know, the ones made with pipe tobacco. Back then it was more feeling cool because I was 18 and could smoke cigars than it was actually enjoying the flavor of the tobacco. I eventually tried a Macanudo and became hooked. I loved the mild, high quality taste of the tobacco and convinced myself that I would never find a finer cigar. For the next couple years I dabbled in the Montecristos and the Cohibas, and fell in love all over again when I tried my first Fuente. When I turned 21 I began working at a smoke shop in Westborough MA where I have lived my whole life. The smoke shop is located inside a ten thousand square foot liquor store that is known around the country as one of the top places to buy beer, liquor, and wine. At the time, the cigar department was just an extra part of the store, a few poorly humidified old deli cases that had been converted into humidors that housed some Fuentes, Ashtons, CAOs, Montecristos, and Cohibas pretty basic stuff. I worked with the front end manager, who also had dubbed himself the cigar manager, 9 hours a day trying to find ways to better our selection and housing quality. I smoked just about every damn cigar that we had in there at the time, and would frequent the shops in surrounding areas to buy smokes and inquire about what was hot, and what was selling. About two years ago, the manager decided that he could leave his department and enjoy retirement. It was then that I took over the department and became the Cigar manager. Shortly thereafter, the owner of the store decided that because of the huge increase in sales that the former manager and I had created, we would build a brand new full sized smoke shop complete with a walk in humidor so that our cigar department would have the opportunity to be as well known as the rest of the store. A couple hundred grand later and we ended up with the Julio's Vigilant smoke shop. It consisted of five humidified 5 foot tall cherry wood cabinets, and a ten by ten walk in humidor. I now carry one of the largest selections of premium cigars of any liquor store in the country with over 400 facings of cigars. Some of my favorites are illusione, Gran Habano, La flor dominicana, Tatuaje, My Father, and Fuente. I can be found a few times a week smoking a cigar with my buddy Chris aka bmw740, at some of the local cigar bars. I hope to see some more of you guys at some of the local MA evens that I have coming up, and I hope to get to know the rest of you through the forums. Smoke up guys!
