Islandboy

Kind of odd how one of those fake bands is clearly not at all like the rest of those fake bands.

Emu tartare, now there’s something you don’t see very....well...ever!

This is exactly my observation as well. But I think what the customs lack in complexity, they make up for in being a reliably pleasant smoke from start to finish. I think there’s a time and place for both - If I feel like rolling the dice on the chance that I’ll go on a flavor journey that makes me take notice, I’ll reach for a Habanos, but if I just want a sure thing, good smoke with a pleasing aroma, it’s a custom. I’m looking forward to seeing how they change with age.

I like the theory of multiple flavor components all coming together for the full effect. I did discover retrohaling some time ago, before discovering cubans even, and it was pretty revolutionary as I recall. But for whatever reason, I don’t do it very often these days. It seems like one’s journey through the enjoyment of cigars is a series of epiphanies, and my most recent was discovering the “blue smoke” aroma about a year ago, and learning how to maximize the effect with things already mentioned like tipping the cigar downward in my mouth, holding it at my chest, etc. I get these occasional whiffs that are downright mesmerizing.

I’ve recently concluded that I puff on a cigar simply to keep it going, and the enjoyable part is actually in the aroma that comes off the cigar, which seems most enjoyable about 10-15 seconds after each puff. The flavor of the smoke in my mouth plays a minor role, it’s mostly olfactory for me. And it’s in the aroma that I get the toasted hazelnuts, the caramel, the freshly baked cookies, the vanilla...you know, all the good stuff. Lately I’ve been wondering if anyone else shares this type of smoking experience, or if I’m an anomaly (wouldn’t be the first time, lol).

Pro tip: Alcohol helps make any cigar taste like a Cohiba....or maybe it makes a Cohiba taste like any other cigar, I forget.

Haha, I never really paid attention to this particular Queen song...the lyrics are quite fitting, and the delivery is appropriate as well.

...tomorrow I might go as far as suicide, but I’m not gonna let it bother me tonight, no I’m not...

I actually have a completely different reaction when I light a cigar in these times - I can feel the grin on my face as I think “damn, I got this cigar for less than half of what it costs today...yeehaw!” I see the classic psychology of the cup half empty versus the cup half full at play here.

The dude abides...Happy Birthday John!

As far as enjoyment, it’s business as usual for me. Fortunately, I spent the last 5 years buying significantly more than I smoke with the goal of having an aged collection in mind, so that has worked out nicely at this point. The other shift that just happened by chance last year is I've pretty much completely switched to purchasing customs and farm rolls since October, so I’ve already accumulated a several year supply of these, and I find the flavor profiles in general to be absolutely delicious. I’ve got a pretty good supply of Cohiba, especially considering I’m not a huge fan of the Marca. The Trinidad factor looms the largest to me, as I really fell in love with La Trova several years ago, and Esmeralda more recently. Luckily I stockpiled the latter pretty well, but I’ll be reaching for them a bit less and more as a treat going forward.

The “processed with chemicals and many substances are added” bit leads me to believe the writer is comparing cigarettes to cigars, in which case there is certainly some general truth here. So I’ve been told, anyway.

“May not”, haha. He’s still in denial that he was duped last vaca.

I know firsthand how difficult farming is, even here in the U.S. The look on the farmer’s face in the 2nd photo kinda says it all, this has to be heartbreaking.

Nice! I grew up in Waimea small kid time, there’s just something about the unique old-school tropical warmth that sets the Big Island apart.