I first got into cigars in 2007, during my senior year of high school. While I wasn't smoking fifty cent flavored cigarillos, I wasn't venturing much beyond the standard range from Altadis and some of the more affordable Fuente sticks. In college I branched out and tried some sticks from Padron, Rocky Patel, Oliva, and Studio Tobac, among others. While in law school I started to get more seriously into the hobby. Instead of just buying a stick when needed and cutting it in store and lighting it with free matches, I got a real humidor and cutter, started building a modest collection, and branched out into brands like Tatuaje and Viaje. At the time I used Puff, though I become inactive when real life commitments started eliminating my free time.
These days I smoke a mix of Cubans and non-Cubans, leaning more heavily on the latter, though I've slowly been improving my inventory of the former. I mostly smoke alone on my porch, as the local options for smoke pale in comparison to what I used to enjoy in St Louis, though once in a rare while I do go to the one dedicated cigar lounge in town to meet up with a friend. I'm on one other small cigar message board, and while it is great, it doesn't really have much in the way of volume of activity, so I figured I'd join BOTL, which I've lurked on periodically in the past.
While, as my username (which is probably familiar to anybody here active on any of the three main beer message boards) suggests, beer is my first love when it comes to alcohol, I tend to limit the frequency with which I pair it with cigars. I enjoy beer on its own, and when smoking I prefer scotch, bourbon, or rye as an accompaniment.
I've read through the pre-study package and the links listed therein, so I think I have a good sense of what is expected (though most of it could easily be summed up as "don't be an ass"), and I'll do my best to be a positive contributor. If nothing else, I hope to learn a lot here, as while I'm no longer a novice, I'm sure a great many people here put me to shame in terms of both knowledge and experience.
These days I smoke a mix of Cubans and non-Cubans, leaning more heavily on the latter, though I've slowly been improving my inventory of the former. I mostly smoke alone on my porch, as the local options for smoke pale in comparison to what I used to enjoy in St Louis, though once in a rare while I do go to the one dedicated cigar lounge in town to meet up with a friend. I'm on one other small cigar message board, and while it is great, it doesn't really have much in the way of volume of activity, so I figured I'd join BOTL, which I've lurked on periodically in the past.
While, as my username (which is probably familiar to anybody here active on any of the three main beer message boards) suggests, beer is my first love when it comes to alcohol, I tend to limit the frequency with which I pair it with cigars. I enjoy beer on its own, and when smoking I prefer scotch, bourbon, or rye as an accompaniment.
I've read through the pre-study package and the links listed therein, so I think I have a good sense of what is expected (though most of it could easily be summed up as "don't be an ass"), and I'll do my best to be a positive contributor. If nothing else, I hope to learn a lot here, as while I'm no longer a novice, I'm sure a great many people here put me to shame in terms of both knowledge and experience.
