Where did you start?

[Poriggity]

Got pushed into this hard about a year ago.. A buddy sent me a desktop humidor and about 75 smokes as an engagement present. I started smoking then.. They were all decent smokes, most of em from Cuban crafters. I haven't really slid down the CC slope yet, but I visit my local shop once a week and have a smoke or two with the owner, and I frequently order from Famous, CI, and bid on Cbid.. Its all downhill from here.. Im now looking at a 1200 ct end table humi.
Scott

 

[AZsteelman]

All I wanted to do was smoke one stinking cigar at the sail away party on a cruise. I picked up a few before hand to see if I would even like it. The first was either a Mac or AF, I don't remember now. Loved it, though and the next week bought a humi and started the collection. By the time the cruise rolled around about 2.5 months later, I had over 200 smokes! Now, we won't discuss numbers anymore...


oh yeah, and damn all you guys that keep making me do this...

 

[djs134]

Around '78, I'd been in college a couple of years, a few of us started to smoke pipes. Myself and one of my buddies would stop into the kiosk (Pipe Den? Tinderbox? Not sure) in the local mall and try a few cigars now and then. Couldn’t tell you what they were, but I remember a very distinct and rich taste and aroma. Anyhow, we took to buying boxes of Swishers for our marathon card games. I left school for the Air Force in ’80 and continued to smoke swishers and some lower priced sticks like H. Upmanns throughout my tour and beyond.

’86 started to visit the local B&M occasionally when I went back to school. Stuck with the Punch, Upmann’s and Henry Clays for a number of years. Stepped up to AFs in the early ‘90s. My brother gave me a box of Cuban Boli (PCs if I remember the size) that his new Father-in-Law had found in the closet sometime in ’94. The Father-in-Law hadn’t smoked for years and believed that they were at least 10 years old at the time.)
They were very dry and I worked on rehabing on those puppies of a couple of months. They were ok, lost a lot of flavor over the years, but I enjoyed them. My appreciation grew to Don Carlos, Ashton Cabinets, VSG’s, Opus, etc over the years.

Then, last November, I met Caudio on a site for coffee and he turned me onto BotL. It’s been intense since then. I started with a small desktop (~50) and now have both a 75 qt and a 150 qt cooler full. Become something of a cigar hound these days. Went to the “darkside” a couple of months ago and have purchased about a dozen boxes of CCs since. I’m looking to purchase a 50 bottle wine cooler soon to consolidate my collection

 

[derek]

I was 20 and had to play in a golf tournament for the company I was working for. The other 3 guys in my group were smoking cigars. They asked if I wanted to try a RyJ. Of course I said yes. I enjoyed it and went out that night picked up a little table top humidor, about 10 cigars at the local shop these guys recomended. I would have one occasionaly. Wasn't till I was 25 until I started smoking seriously. Funny thing is I have never played golf since that day.

 

[MithShrike]

In May of 2005 my roommate and I were doing laundry and decided to get some booze at the Circle K. As we headed over to Circle K my roommate noticed this little hole-in-the-wall cigar shop. We decided to take a detour and stop on in. I struggled with asthma in my childhood so smoking wasn't something I'd thought much of.

I got into the cigar shop and this little Cuban man was standing there looking at his display humidors. He was only shoulder high to me and I'm only 5'7"! He starts talking about his product and I heard those magic words, "You don't inhale a fine cigar."

Well, I smelled 'em all and he hands me a double corona. Eight years aged leaves, beautiful Claro wrapper, no veins whatsoever. The smell had me hooked right then and there. Only $7? Sure that sounds great. Cheaper than my hifi obsession for sure.

A year and three months later I'm down at Habanos Torres every Friday, smoking the primos - thirty year aged tobacco throughout the entire construction of the cigar - and if my friend feels like rolling that night, fresh off the rolling table. I've become very good friends with the tabaquero and good friends with some of the other regulars there. Cigars are great.

 

[sleepydoc]

I started smoking a pipe in college. After about 15 years, someone gave me a cigar that was filled with pipe tobacco (really!). It was a terrible 'cigar', but I loved the experience, and I started sliding down the slippery slope right then and there.

That was 12 years ago.

I still have lots of great pipes..... somewhere. Haven't seen them in years.

 

[mark5]

I started smokin Crack early on but found cigars to be cheaper by a small margine:grin:

 

[Brian]

I started smokin Crack early on but found cigars to be cheaper by a small margine:grin:

:rofl: I'll bet they're more addictive though.:wink:

 

[sleepydoc]

Probably less of a fine to smoke crack in a restaurant in California these days.

 

[katietilley]

I started at that first party as Shawn said. He ran with it, got into all the different types and vintages, read about them like crazy.... I must admit I simply enjoyed what we shared but I couldn't even tell you for sure what they were. I bought lots of cigarillo tins (some flavored some not) at the local cigar shop and smoked those for most of this past year.
My humidor has several nice things that were given to me. I recently bought a box of Punch Margaritas and plan to start buying more of the smaller varieties (demi tasse, joyita). I know that I should learn more but so long as there is something there to enjoy on those days that I chose to smoke, I'm grateful for the indulgence.

 

[Johnny7]

Had 5 tins of Cafe Creme mini cigars left in the house I bought about ten years ago. Had given up on cigerettes years before but found I really enjoyed cigars more and then someone bought me a La Invicta corona and I couldn't go back to small cigars ever again. After that tried any cigars I could find but I never forget the Flor de Cano that lasted over an hour and a quarter and the wife finding me as white as a sheet on the back doorstep. Only ever tried that one but I still remember it was wonderful at the start and middle but the end was a bit hazy:barf:

 

[Larry]

You know when I started I actually thought to myself "you don't inhale cigars so its much healthier for you than anything else..."

 

[rancid]

Mine started 5 years ago, I was with the wife in Ensenada and we were shopping (actually she was shopping, I was along as a bank with legs) anway, while she was doing her thing, I told her I would be next door at a cigar shop ( don't remember the name ) and since I figured I was in Mexico (where Cubans are legal) that I would as the guy behind the counter for his suggestion on a cigar to try, I ended up purchasing a Cuban Monte #4. Later on that evening when we finished shopping and having dinner, we went back to the hotel and sat outside on the upper patio overlooking the bay and I lit that bad boy up which was being paired with a Pacifico Beer and that's when I was hooked, ever since then my quest has been for the best smoke I can get and it's been expensive.

:cryloud:

 

[MithShrike]

Welcome to BOTL rancid.

 

[seriesV]

Mine started 5 years ago, I was with the wife in Ensenada and we were shopping (actually she was shopping, I was along as a bank with legs)

:rofl: how true is that. :rofl:

for me, i started with backwoods about 4 years ago (around 17) when i was out partying, my buddies who were mostly all a year or two older would get them for me, and i'd share with them. the aromatic ones were my favorites. then i started poking around the internet and doing a lot of reading just trying to learn more about "real" cigars in general (sizes, terms, etc.) the week before my 18th birthday i was in italy with a group from school, and i had done a good deal of research on cigars and hopw to smoke them, etc. so the first cigar i actually bought was a ryj tubo (ISOM), #2 if i remember, i smoked it in rome at a little street-side cafe and i thought i was in heaven. :stretchgr I proceeded to pick up a few more of those, as well as a ryj churchill tubo, and a punch tubo i didnt smoke but gave to my uncle when i got home. we got home the night before i turned 18, so the following week i started at the local shops and just tried as many different brands as i could find.

a little more than 3 years later, and i have 4 humis, several boxes, and some serious CC bills that i've paid. :smokingbo

I tried a pipe 2 summers ago, it was alright, but i had a hard time keeping it lit well and i didnt like how the smoke hit the back of my tounge so hard, so after 2 or 3 months of mostly pipe smoking i went back to cigars and havent looked back. maybe ill light up a pipe again though, just to see if i like it any better, i still have it and the tobacco i bought, but i dunno if i want to or not.

 

[caudio51]

Mine started 5 years ago, I was with the wife in Ensenada and we were shopping (actually she was shopping, I was along as a bank with legs) anway, while she was doing her thing, I told her I would be next door at a cigar shop ( don't remember the name ) and since I figured I was in Mexico (where Cubans are legal) that I would as the guy behind the counter for his suggestion on a cigar to try, I ended up purchasing a Cuban Monte #4. Later on that evening when we finished shopping and having dinner, we went back to the hotel and sat outside on the upper patio overlooking the bay and I lit that bad boy up which was being paired with a Pacifico Beer and that's when I was hooked, ever since then my quest has been for the best smoke I can get and it's been expensive.

:cryloud:

Welcome to BOTL!

 

[Johnny7]

Mine started 5 years ago, I was with the wife in Ensenada and we were shopping (actually she was shopping, I was along as a bank with legs) anway, while she was doing her thing, I told her I would be next door at a cigar shop ( don't remember the name ) and since I figured I was in Mexico (where Cubans are legal) that I would as the guy behind the counter for his suggestion on a cigar to try, I ended up purchasing a Cuban Monte #4. Later on that evening when we finished shopping and having dinner, we went back to the hotel and sat outside on the upper patio overlooking the bay and I lit that bad boy up which was being paired with a Pacifico Beer and that's when I was hooked, ever since then my quest has been for the best smoke I can get and it's been expensive.

:cryloud:

:welcome: Rancid, I'm sure I saw a punk band many years ago by that very name :sing:

 

[Frank N]

I used to be a cigarette smoker, and about 5 years or so ago at a monthly social club meeting, a fellow club member came up to me afterwords (while I was outside smoking a cigarette) and offered me and my buddy each a cigar.

Well my buddy was an occasional cigar smoker (meaning he had a desk humi that sometimes had cigars in it, and sometimes didn't) and he jumped up-and-down at the chance because he was being offered his favorite: an Arturo Fuente cigar. I didn't know heads or tails about cigars, so I took the other, a cheaper Padron (looking back Im' sure it was probably a 2000 or 3000).

About a year and a half later I finally quit smoking cigarettes...but at the same time, my buddy started to really get ramped up on cigars (meaning weekly trips to the local b&m store to replenish the desktop humi). Well after about 6 months of not smoking ciggys, I felt comfortable enough with myself to smoke a cigar. I mean hey, you don't inhale these things, they can't possibly be addictive, right?

My start kind of goes along with this post.

Having never smoked anything more than lighting the occasional cigarette for girlfriends/wifes in the past, I had my father go down with me to help me pick out a box of cigars for the birth of my son. I had only 2 requirements. 1) nothing cheap/cheesy (like the standard "it's a boy" that i've gotten in the past so many times) 2) had to be something worthy of handing out to people who like cigars. I never did smoke one, but chewed the hell out of one on the way to the hospital. That was in '99.

Forward to middle of '05 and I was hanging out with E.S. and the above mentioned buddy. Listening to them ramble on about cigars and the fact that I like the taste of more traditional things, like scotch on the rocks and what not, I mentioned trying one. One day our buddy brought out a cigar for me to try. I enjoyed it quite a bit. A couple of weeks went by with the two of them providing me with the extra cigar that they had laying around every now and then. One weekend Sheep and made a beer & cigar run to stock up for the afternoon. The Perdomo rep happened to be in the store and offered up a deal of "buy any 4 of these and get a hand rolled for free" Having no idea what I was looking at, E.S. grabbed me several of the different cabinet series reservse and said "buy these" I've been enjoying cigars on a regular basis ever since. I now have a desktop humidor with on average 50-60 cigars and an annoyed wife. lol

Oh, and thanks to the two of them being more seasoned smokers, they kept pushing me toward stronger cigars. So I pretty much skipped right over the mild to medium range and reach for the stronger cigars.

Oh, and one other thing, (Sorry to ramble) just last night I picked up the same cigar that my father had me get to hand out. So now with my son being 7, I'm going to finally smoke the same thing I chewed on back then. A Punch After Dinner Maduro