As a teen and preteen I was always fascinated with tobacco and it's history. As a fan of the original Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories, I was always asking about pipes and cigars. Then the portrayal of smoking in the early Looney Tunes cartoon's and in movies depicting the 19th and early 20th centuries kept my interest up. Finally, at about 15, I started with some Garcia y Vega English coronas, Macanudo Hampton Courts and Hav-A-Tampa Jewels. Didn't know anything about premium cigars until years later when I realized my friend's father smoked cigars and was more than willing to talk about them, and share them. It was his advice at the end of a summer trip to the beach house to stop at a news stand in a mall on the way home and try a Fuente Opus X, if i liked his other cigars I'd love that he said. Well, I loved it indeed and have been progressively getting into the hobby since, more so the last couple years.