Aftermath pt.3

So now you have officially finished off your cigar, (at least down to if not past the wrapper). Now what?

First go brush your teeth and use mouth wash. Cigars taste good, but not to loved ones.
Next grab a bite to eat. If its your first time and you have done it on an empty stomach think of it like drinking on an empty stomach, not so great to do. And lastly you may need to change clothes, I personally like the smell of cigars, but some don't.

And now you have successfully enjoy what the adults call tobacco.

You chosen your first cigar now what pt.2

Once you have chosen your first cigar, you have to cut and light it.

First cut it. There is a little ridge towards the "top" or "head" of the cigar. Looks like a cap. Cut it just above that line, the cigar is actually rolled so that this part comes away easier. If you mess up, pretend you meant to do it where ever you did and just enjoy.

There are ton of tricks and supposedly a proper way to do it. However a friend who owns a cigar shop once told me, "just light the damn thing". Some popular techniques are to use a piece of lit cedar or a torch lighter. The reason why regular BiC lighters are not recommended is because they do not use a clean burning fuel source.

After that just puff on the cigar at a METERED pace (too fast and you get sick, too slow and it dies out), relight as needed. Enjoy, take a selfie, and drink some fine alcoholic beverage to accompany it.

For more info this page.

How to choose a cigar if your new to the game pt.1

Sometimes you just want to do something that is bad, and sometimes that is smoking a cigar. There are risks such as lung, throat, and mouth cancer and blah blah blah blah. If your over 21 your an adult and responsible for your own well being. So smok'em if you got'em.

The first step to pick a cigar for the first time is to try something on the lighter side. Unless you are a four pack a day chump or can per dip guy/gal, a lighter cigar will ease you into the who experience.

You could even start with a cigarillo, but that's akin to learning how to drive a car in a big wheel, yeah it counts but not for much.

So popular starting cigars are the Acid Kuba Kubas or the Gurkha Symphony, both on the milder side. The acid has a really good flavor while the Symphony is light and "balanced" taste wise. Most of my friends who smoke cigars start on these two, and really enjoy it.

Some nice pictures from Cigar's International: Symphonies on the left and Acids on the right.

A Love of Drew Estate continued

Earlier I mentioned that I was a big fan of Acid cigars, they are made by Drew Estates, and they are the most aromatic cigars I've ever had. However Drew Estates makes other fine cigars that are not as pungent as the Acid Line. Most of them are medium to full body, a common smoke of mine from them is the Undercrown. Pictured below:




From Cigar.com:



Not only have the folks at Drew Estate won the world over with their countless infused blends, but they amazed everyone with their traditional Liga Privada No. 9. Not to rest on their laurels, they have since come out with a handful of small batch, traditional lines that are well worth the attention.

Undercrown was created at the rolling tables by Drew Estate's rollers - not in a board room or meeting. The story goes as such: Drew Estate allows their rollers to smoke any of the cigars in production, and the rollers loved the original Liga Privada No. 9 blend so much that it was all they ever smoked. While most would consider that a ringing endorsement, Drew Estate was worried about the availability of the tobaccos. The primings used for the No. 9 are so rare and limited that they had to remove Liga Privada No. 9 from the list of cigars the rollers are allowed to smoke. The rollers then improvised and used different primings of the same tobacco to make a new blend they could enjoy in the factory every day. This new blend impressed the Drew Estate team so much that they rolled it out to the market, and thus, Liga Privada Undercrown was born.

Differing from the No. 9 wrapper, Undercrown is graced with a dark brown San Andres maduro wrapper. The San Andres wrapper adds some spice to the blend and makes its presence known in the onset of the cigar. The blend develops nicely with flavors of espresso and hints of cashews. Undercrown comes off as a medium-bodied cigar that expels a lot flavor with a cool, perfectly even burn. Expect a medium finish as this blend is perfect for every cigar enthusiast.




So in other words this cigar is good. Honestly if you haven't had this one, definitely go out and try when you get a chance.

Acid in Heidelberg, Germany

 Heidelberg GE

I love acid. Not the drug acid, but the cigar line Acid's by Drew Estate. Kuba Kuba Acids were some of the first cigars I bought a box at a time (the first being 5 vegas Gold, the second being these). I used to sit in my favorite cafe, which is located in downtown Heidelberg on the main street. Almost every chance I would get I would spend sitting in the morning smoking a cigar and drinking Irish coffees and chatting with waitress (who were stunning) while people watching. While not the exact location the pictures above and to the left serve as a visual of what the days would look like and the city near which I was stationed.

                                          After awhile I got to know the owner and prices went down drastically, and it became an almost weekly ritual to sit and speak with the owner. He proved to have a cunning mind for philosophical questions and could easily explain the governmental politics that would often escape me.

 But we never used names, in the end I only remember the name of the bar, Coyotes, but I will never forget the time spent there.

Graycliff Chateau Grand Crus

Graycliffs. A cigar I will never forget. Not my first, but my first favorite. 5 Vegas Golds are good cigars, but there is something unique about the Grand Cru. Don't get it in anything but the Presidente length and shape.

I had just gotten to the main hub of Iraq, the Green Zone, I had a briefing to give. About ten miles away, through a very "calm" strip of road was Baghdad International Airport or BIAP as it was commonly known, and the associated base, Camp Victory.

To get from one place to another you traveled along route Irish, the daily shuttle was something called a Rhino.

While not the exact one I rode in, they were all generally the same. Traveling to and from was simple, show up at the Rhino stop, wait to see if they had room, then hop on and go.

Why did I travel any more than necessary, risking IEDs, small arm attacks and suicide bombers?
It was simple, my friends were located on BIAP and I hadn't seem then in several months.

After arriving to BIAP I located a couple friends, Weston and Bowser. We sat in the night and smoked Gran Crus, watching the enemy rockets fly over head. The smoke trails from the cigars and the bubbles from the sodas soon dissipated but we spent hours catching up and savoring the moment of simply being alive and having a great conversation.

Every time I smoke a Gran Cru, and at about $25 a pop its not too often, I remember those days and the friendships I had.

5 Vegas Gold, the first of many

From Cigar's International:




Solid gold.

Despite the pomp and circumstance surrounding full-bodied, powerhouse cigars these days, milder cigars still rule. Without a doubt, the uber-popular 5 Vegas Gold is the perfect example. This gorgeous creature is crafted with extensively aged tobaccos, including a beautiful, almost shimmering Ecuador Connecticut wrapper leaf with a rich satiny texture. This charming blend is the big easy. I’ll recite the reasons chapter and verse. Top quality tobaccos? Check. 5 year aged long-fillers? Check. Seamless wrappers? Check. Made in one of Honduras’ top factories? Check. Handsome packaging? Check.

Toast the foot and take a draw. You’ll see some spirit up front: a slight nutty taste followed by some zesty peppery notes on the back of the palate. A feisty sucker! But instantly it mellows into a polished smoothness with ample creaminess. It stays utterly consistent from here on out, well-balanced with a sturdy creamy foundation, and booms out thick clouds of smoke. What a charmer! Mild to medium it is, not super-mild, but just shy of a middleweight. The fantastic “gold bar” style packaging and an astonishingly reasonable price point round it out. 5 Vegas Gold is a positively delightful blend.



This was my first cigar. The monster on the far right of the photo (credit to CI), not something a novice should sample as their very first. I had a rough go of it. But I will never forget the nicotine high, the thundering of war planes flying off to fight an enemy that was just a block away, the sights, smell and taste of that very first 5 Vegas Gold No. 1 cigar.