subject: A Cigar Smoker's Guide to Great Cigars and Great Cigar Moments [print this page] A Cigar Smoker's Guide to Great Cigars and Great Cigar Moments
Cigar-smoking is a real pleasure - an indulgence that goes beyond mere ice cream and cookies indulgence, this is a luxury that you associate with moments. Great cigars create great moments - here are my top 5 cigar moments, and why each of those cigars remains so special...1) Partagas in ParisMy first cigar was a Partagas - it seemed like a safe choice at the time, and as an introduction to cigar smoking, it probably was. Partagas is one of the oldest cigar brands in the world, established in Havana in 1845. Today, there are two competing Partagas brands - one in the Dominican Republic, and the other still based in Cuba.This, I was assured, was a Cuban Partagas, and it introduced me to the three-tiered cigar concept. The first third of the cigar is subtle - and in this case, it was almost hard work... the second third of the cigar is the most pleasurable - with notes of chocolate and leather. The final third of the cigar, for me, in this instance, was a little too strong - and I left it upturned in the ashtray.Whether the setting - a faux-Cuban bar in the Montparnasse district - was appropriate or not, I don't know, but sat back in a ripped leather chair with Cuban music in the background and a fine Calvados, this made for one of the great cigar moments.2. Hoyo de Monterrey - summer - in the shedSurrounded by paint cans, and a variety of garden shed rubbish, I was relegated to the shed, with a pregnant wife who had never liked the smell of cigars anyway. However, it was 30 degrees outside, and perched on an unopened can of shed paint, I had an hour or two free. Time to try these extra-long Hoyo de Monterrey double coronas.Once more, this is a dual brand - the originals (which I was smoking) from Cuba, and the rivals from Honduras. The Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey dates back to 1831, when Don Jose Gener y Batet emigrated to Cuba, and worked on his father's plantation.Translated as the Hole of Monterrey, the tobacco is produced in a valley, and is some of the finest you can find in Cuba.I was smoking this after watching the final session of the cricket between England and Pakistan, after a hard day's work, and never had a cigar been more welcome.3. Bolivar - cards night, ParisAnother brand that is produced both in Cuba and abroad - this time in Nicaragua. The name Bolivar, of course, conjures up notions of heroism and South American pride. The cigar, for me, conjures up images of the box that I bought in the Duty Free on the way to St. Petersburg, and the cigars that I smoked on the night that I won the card game in Paris (well, the only night).A cigar like this can be associated with many things, but in this case it was pride. It is rude to clench your cigar between your teeth, and it is equally rude to smoke in the company of non-smokers. I ensured that I achieved neither of these things by maintaining cigar etiquette - offering to everyone around the table, and making sure that nobody would have been offended.This is another aspect of cigar smoking that differentiates it from smoking cigarettes. Politeness is everything. Cigar smokers - as Davidoff himself wrote - are by their very nature, ethical. We do not endanger the health of others, and we respect our environment. And we most definitely do not clench the cigar between our teeth. How uncouth.As the whisky flowed, the Bolivar smoked right to the label.So, there you go. If you are thinking of taking up cigar smoking, read up on Davidoff's cigar smoking etiquette, and learn to appreciate the moment as much as you appreciate the cigar. There will be plenty of memories to come.
