"The Journey"

[cincycreech]

Here we go..

I thought it might be interesting to do a blog on "The Journey" to becoming a Cigar Aficionado. Coming from a true outsider with no knowledge of cigars and the lifestyle it leads. I will update the blog a couple times a week, keeping everyone updated on the purchases i have made. What i have found myself to like, dislike, obstacles i encounter and etc.. What a way too kick off 2014? Am I right? Also, I will be open to any advice and knowledge anyone wants to shed.

First start off with a little background information about myself. My name is Jonathan or as everyone on the boards will know me as Cincycreech. I am 26 years old an currently reside in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have been working in Wireless Sales for the past 5 years and attend a local college. Outside of working I spend a lot of my spare time on or around the golf course. It is truly something I will never grow out of, golf is my true passion. This August I will be marrying my best friend. Which I am very much so looking forward too.

Onto the good stuff...

A week ago If you would have asked me what's the difference between a Churchill cigar and a Robusto. Honestly, I would have probably given some smart ass remark along the lines as "is it like comparing a Driver to a Wedge?" Truly had no idea what was so different between one cigar to the next. On new years eve I decided to have a little get together of friends and family. Unfortunately my fiance was working until later that night so i had to be "Betty Homemaker" cooking and preparing all the food. I had time set aside later on that evening to make a local trip to the food market to pick up some different types of beer. Out on a limb while in the store i glanced over to the humidor and thought it would be a great idea to grab a couple cigars to start the new year off right with celebratory cigar. I quickly reached down into my pocket grabbed my iphone and texted one of my buddies to ask for a couple quick suggestions on what i should pick up. In case if anyone is wondering i grabbed a couple Acid Kuba Kuba's. He said "honestly you can't go wrong since you have no idea what your smoking. Also they have a really good sweet taste too it so you will enjoy it." So instead going into full detail about sparking the cigar, taking the first draw and saying it was love at first smoke.. You can probably get all that with me joining the forum and posting this blog.

In the past week I spent a measly $25 dollars on a humidor, picked up a couple extra cigars and started my journey. I have already learned a ton about everything around the cigar culture, different types of cigars, flavors, ratings, sizes, cutters, what lighters to use, and how to store them. Now I am not some super successful salesman, I have a little extra money from time to time to spend on what i want. But, this has intrigued me so much and so far i have really enjoyed every moment of it. So if your thinking your going to see posts of the finest of cigars I am far from it. What you will see is "The Journey" of what purchases I will be making, cigars I am smoking, ratings and reviews from a noob point of view. I am very much looking forward to keeping everyone up to date. Taking any suggestions on where and what to buy, anything related to the such. Also every cigar i enjoy I'll post pictures on the site or my Instagram account giving my rating. I hope you enjoy this as much as i will..

Thank you for reading,
Cincycreech

P.S. Please take into account i am not a writer!! Apologize for any errors if any.

P.S.S. Contact information is below if anyone would like to email me.

Email Address- creech.jonathan@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram: cincycreech

 

[cincycreech]

So some pictures below are just a few purchases I have made pretty much going blind into it. Just from doing basic research I have seen a handful of people smoking some of the cigars listed below so i though why not? Also i have found out that i definitely need to invest in a good cutter... That is KEY!!!

 

[klyoung3]

Much luck! Looking forward to following through IG. Be warned though, it is a slippery slope!

 

[cincycreech]

As of right now my favorite cigar so far has been "My Uzi Weighs a Ton." Now this is the first Medium-Full cigar I've gotten to try. Price point of the Bait Fish was $3.50 which have found out that's a pretty solid buy. Actually after smoking it i went back and purchased a few more. Great smoke.. Seems like everyone thoroughly enjoys anything Drew Estate!

 

[cincycreech]

Much luck! Looking forward to following through IG. Be warned though, it is a slippery slope!

I have never called myself a smoker but i have to admit over the last week and half or so I have smoked about 6 cigars!! Also i keep hearing this slipper slope nonsense.. I hope my fiance is prepared for the madness!

 

[Cigary43]

Good to see that you have an avid interest in this hobby we all share. Reading and research will be your best friend in that your own tastes should guide you as to what you like. You don't have to spend a ton of money on this hobby....you can enjoy it w/o going broke but once you start down this road it's a bit difficult to rein it in sometimes because there really is a ton of great cigars out there. Patience...focus and enjoyment is all part of the journey.

 

[StogieNinja]

I second everything Gary stated, especially the part about patience. You'll be tempted to speed up the process, but don't. Whether it be the process of building a stash, or the process of discovering favorites, remember it all takes time, and patience is always rewarded in this hobby.

Your palate will develop over the next year or two, not only increasing your ability to enjoy the cigar, but also changing what you like, so don't be in a rush to build a stash and buy boxes yet. The best advice I ever got was to try one. If you like it, try three. If you still like it, get a five pack. Only after smoking all of those should you buy a box if you still feel the cigar is box-worthy. More than likely, this will save you a ton of money. Almost everyone here has at least one box or bundle (if not several) they bought when they first started that they don't really smoke any more because their palate changed.

The other thing is to have an open mind. Be prepared to have your perceptions challenged! Whether it be your perception of cigar smokers, of the "kind" of people who smoke cigars, whether it be your perception of what kind of cigars are good, or your perception of how to care for cigars... have an open mind. The BOTLs here are a wealth of knowledge, and are happy to share it with you.

Enjoy the journey, my friend. Because with cigars, it's not about the destination. It's not about ending up with a cabinet full of premium Cubans. It's about enjoying the experience of learning about cigars, sampling everything, learning about the industry and the culture, making great friends. It's about the conversation and camaraderie that happens when guys sit down and smoke together, whether physically or online. As your title says, it's not about the destination, it's all about the journey.

 

[blessednxs65]

Best wishes on your endeavor. You are in the right place as knowledge abounds on this board and to a man (or woman) the folks on this board are world class and will go out of their way to help you.

 

[cincycreech]

I wanted to thank everyone for the kind words! Truly one of the best Forums I have ever associated myself with.

I have heard that a great way to try cigars is ordering a sampler. I think that will be my next new purchase. Although I did get a little carried away as a new smoker and decided to order a 5-pack of Baccarat's. They came today and I realized I am going to need a bigger boat. So I found a good size Tupperware to store them in for awhile. Figured I would throw them in there for a few months and see how it goes!!

Also I was at a local shop the other day and was talking to a guy in the humidor. He suggested to try a Juicy Lucy. So I figured it would be a nice morning smoke with my coffee. Great Draw, nice burn, quick smoke! Would definitely purchase a few more of these bad boys.

 

[Agentskull]

Well just a small piece of advice. Get two Tupperware containers. One for flavor infused cigars another for your other purchases.

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 4

 

[jeffturneraz]

I am not sure what rhyme or reason is used when vendors put together samplers.

I never bought a sampler. I think it all depends.

There are so many cigars out there to try, it can be overwhelming for sure. In that sense, I think a sampler sounds like a great idea, you can quit over thinking what should you buy, and just grab what someone else has sort of put together.

With me, I had a really good idea of everything I wanted to try...so I would go create my own sampler no problem, I would always have to leave cigars I wanted until next time, as I couldn't pay for the amount I was interested in trying, but there should be no rush to try them all because that's the fun.

Not sure if you are on Instagram or not, if you are this will make sense, if you aren't on Instagram, this probably will make no sense...

..but I searched hashtags on Instagram, and through doing that, found lots of great "Instagramers" to follow.

I was always (and still do) scrolling through hastags like #botl, #nowsmoking, #humidor, #cigarporn

From looking at these at least once a day, I would see the same reoccurring cigars, so those cigars started becoming familiar to me, even if I had never noticed one in real life.

Then each trip to the B&M, I would begin to notice cigars that I had seen a lot of on Instagram, that is how I sort of got a heads up on certain things to look for.

By no means did I like every cigar that "everyone on Instagram" seemed to like after I got it home and smoked it, but that's a good thing. It basically gave me a basis, an idea of what people were smoking.

Anyway, you mentioned samplers...that is definitely one way to start seeing what it is you like....

I think my only reasoning behind never going that route, is because in my opinion, I could be wrong, but samplers seem like a way for vendors to get rid of cigars they can't sell.

If they have a cigar nobody wants and they need to move it, one way to do that is throw it in a 5 pack and make sure 1 of those 5 cigars is something people will definitely want, then you have solved your problem of getting rid of the sort of "stagnant" product.

Usually if a vendor can't get rid of a certain cigar, its for a good reason.

Sometimes, not at all. There are times, down the road, where you will think that you and the vendor are the only people on the planet that realize how great a certain cigar is.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Do whatever feels right to you because there is no right way. Your vendor may put together some of the most awesome samplers in North America, so it truly is, as the post states, "your" journey.

 

[Lipher]

can i ask you a question about this journey?

 

[cincycreech]

can i ask you a question about this journey?

Shoot.

 

[Lipher]

PM me your address.

 

[klyoung3]

PM me your address.

DM it to me too

 

[BarrelAgedFilms]

Great post, Jonathan. I just followed you on IG and I'm new to this community too, although I've been smoking for years, only recently have I gained a new passion for learning, smoking, collecting and trying new sticks. Welcome dude and I wish you many great smokes and a few lousy ones along the way. If we don't know what bad is, how can we know what good is? Kindly PM me your address as well if you don't mind.

 

[cincycreech]

So this morning I woke up and though "you know what would really go good with this coffee?" I reached into my tuppador and pulled out a nice bait fish Uzi. That wasn't the brightest ideas I've had.. Have to admit I was a little dizzy driving to work!!

 

[cincycreech]

Everyone has been pm'd!

Thank you everyone!

Also thanks for the add on Instagram barrelaged!!

 

[cincycreech]

Today I also realized I am in need of a good cutter. I have heard a couple people say "your cigar is only as good as your cutter." That hit home today when my cutter almost costed me a nice Cigar!

Any suggestions?

 

[sofc]

Today I also realized I am in need of a good cutter. I have heard a couple people say "your cigar is only as good as your cutter." That hit home today when my cutter almost costed me a nice Cigar!

Any suggestions?

I've used anything from really nice cutters to okay cutters to v cuts to punches to a tee to knives to my finger to flip the cap. Suggestions depend on how much you want to spend.