How did you get initiated to cigars?

[godfathermint]

So I've been wondering, how did you guys start smoking cigars?

Personally, I saw a guy smoking one and I thought it looked interesting (it was also WAY more aromatic than cigarettes!) a week later I've bought my first cigar and have been loving them ever since! =D

[CanuckSARTech]

The CEO/President of an advertising firm that I was working for in 1998 in Toronto introduced me to them. If you had a good sales week, the top players of the week were invited to take their pick from a giant (~250 stick) clear acrylic humidor that he (Mark) had sitting on the coffee table in his HUGE corner office (with 2 leather sofas, and a few arm chairs, and a giant aquarium, with pirahnas, I think it was). We'd have a great cigar, chat for a couple of hours, he'd guide our experience a bit with cigar info, then we'd go grab breakfast/brunch at a nearby restaurant with fresh squeezed orange juice and thick-sliced peameal bacon. I don't remember the half of what I smoked, and I can't remember the first one I had there, but I do distinctly remember at some point along the line of having a well-aged 1991 Cohiba Espléndido (Churchill format); I had a phenomenal week that week, and he picked it out and proudly handed it to me. I was hooked from there.

A baptism of richness, that's for sure.

[Charltonc]

I smoked my first cigar when I was 16 or 17 when I was in Puerto Rico. I loved the cigars so much that I ordered a box afterwards, but I became a serious cigar smoker two years ago. I work at a local cigar store in the states. This is where I learned to love cigars.

[SamuraiJack]

Ever since I was a child I loved the smell of cigars and snus. I had a decent cigar here or there over the years, but nothing that got me hooked. Then in my late 20's my cousin corrupted me with an Ashton Aged Maduro.

[sepp]

Vegas! to do with combat cigarette chain smokers at the black jack tables...

[Mr.T]

Nice thread......my father introduced me to cuban cigars. He would always enjoy a cc and scotch following dinner and one night I got curious. So he offered me one of his go to cigars.....a Cohiba Siglo II which just about knocked the crap out of me, but it was the start of a special journey into the world of ccs....

[CUBANO]

In 1998 my aunt visited from Cuba with two boxes of cigars, and I was hooked.

[KB24]

Smoked some cigars in High School but really got into it while working in post-production on the Jim Carry movie "Fun with Dock and Jane." The Director would always take cigar breaks and if I had time I would join him. As the number of cigars I smoked per week kept increasing so did my infatuation with them. A few months later came the wine cooler humidor and about a year after that came the Aristocrat.

An important note - Nothing would have been possible without the guidance of Tampa (Chuck). I met him through Myspace and he would later become my go to for all things cigar related. He would eventually trust me enough to get me involved in the wonderful world of Habanos. RIP!

-Patrick

[Alexsmoker]

I was attracted by smoking cigars since i was very young, but started only when i was 18, as unusual for a such a young guy. I bealive that the REAL cigar smokers have this kind of desire since kids. However, now 38, realy happy to spend my time with robusto friends.

[scinmyheart]

my first cigar was a Swisher Sweet in the woods behind my house when I was 13...came inside and mama asked what that sweet smell was on me

she was a little easier on me for that as opposed to asking what that sweet smell was all over me a few years later

[CBL]

Every year since I was 16 my friends and I would have a party during new years eve and when I was 21 we held it at my place and I wanted it to be a "high class" party so we bought bottles of proper champagne, some Hpnotiq and other "expensive" booze and I had the idea to buy some good cigars. So after some online research we found that Cohiba was one of the best brands and we bought some Siglo II's with the idea that: If we hate the cigars, at least we can say we tried some of the best available

Luckily the cigars went down very well and one of my friends and I got hooked on cc's. That was two and a half years ago. Now, two humidors, a mountain of cigars and a trip to Cuba later our hobby is still going strong!

Thank god I tried to be a little snob that day

[almudawi]

I have always wanted to smoke cigars, ever since I was in my late teens. During my university days, I conjured up my courage and went into the local Casa Del Habanos and bought a Montecristo (cant remember which). Enjoyed it but couldn't afford to keep up buying them for obvious reasons.

Fast forward some 6 years. An older married me received a Jose L. Piedra bundle (gifted by the Mrs) this re-ignited my interest in cuban cigars. Dipped into Casa Del Habanos for a quick look and ended up buying my first humidor and proper cigars (I think it was 2 CoRos and a Monte EL). The rest is history

[thechenman]

My first real cigars, if Macanudo can be considered a real cigar, came in college. Used to smoke them at poker games and from time to time at parties. I was an ocassional here and there cigar smoker, I never had a humidor of my own. I'd only smoke really when offered one, or on the rare ocassion that I would walk into a B&M. I didn't become a serious smoker until about three years ago when I joined the Golf Club down the street from my home. I enjoyed the smell of cigars and was often offered one and found that I enjoyed smoking a good cigar while playing a round of golf. I then began buying a stick or two at the club before each round, and a little over two years ago, bought my first humidor. It's been a wild ride ever since.

[Colt45]

To my recollection, my first was a candela wrapped beauty swiped from my brother's desk drawer - I don't think I was yet in my teens. Later on,

probably late teens, I started buying from local smoke shops - this was when they were still to be found in every neighborhood and shopping mall.

And so it goes - research, experimentation, then the internet.......... and now here I am...............

[anacostiakat]

My father was a cigar smoker after quitting ciggies.

I started when I was recovering from surgery and someone gave me some cigars.

[PointSource]

Watching my brother smoke Swisher Sweets while fishing. I went to a cigar store and bought an Ashton VSG (somewhere around 99 or 00) and that was that.

[CigarCanuck]

I was first introduced to cigars by a friend that went Cuba and got fake cohiba esplendidos. I tried them and were turned off. Later about 6 months down the road I went to a BBQ another friend was hosting. After dinner he offered us cigars, partagas no.2 D series and showed me how to cut, light and prep the cigar for an enjoyable smoke. 6 years later I have my own humidor and have a decent size that is constantly growing. I smoke a coupe times a week and enjoy finding new flavor in the old classics

[investandprosper]

I also got started around the golf course about seven years ago. I had no idea what a good stick was back then, and frankly the course gars were terrible! I ordered a box of Montecristo No. 5s about a year later, just picked them because I liked the name and they were inexpensive. I didn't have a humidor or anything (didn't even know about them), but Hawaii is pretty humid year round. Took a break for six years and picked up the obsession in late April of this year. I now have an 18 bottle Vinotemp housing about 8 boxes of my favorites! Slippery slope indeed.

[Habanakane21]

1994. The week before my wedding. My soon to be brother in-law from Boston introduced me to cigars. I think it was a Puro Indios No.4. I thought it was ...wow.. I could get use to this stuff

[rdb6]

My dad was a cigar smoker and I loved the smell. When I was about 8 yrs old I used to cut them for him. As I got to be about 13 not only did I cut them but I lit them as well. OH BABY! The rest is history.

[JoshMP]

I got introduced to cuban cigars whilst working for an oil and gas company over here. The combination of very high wages and, predominantly, american staff meant that if you were "one or the boys" then you smoked cigars and drank scotch no question.

Three years later and the job is no more but my passion for cigars is stronger than ever!

[Leopolis Semper Fidelis]

I always loved the aroma of cigars... Anyhow, at an airport's Duty Free on my travels, I bought some Schimmelpenninck Duets (Dutch machine-made) for a friend from Holland, now resident in my country. He offered me one, I inhaled to the depths of my being (never having had a cigar before, and I wasn't a cigarette smoker either), and was violently ill! I was determined not to be overcome, so Han gave me tuition. I came to like the practice, but progressed to Havanas and have been with Cubans ever since (although I ventured out into all sorts of NCCs, but none ever delivered the pleasure and satisfaction of a puro from Cuba).

[sharks]

Ever since I was a young bloke loved the smell of cigars. Bought some cubans to celebrate the birth of our first

child and havent looked back.

Sharks

[Scardinoz]

My first ever cigar was accidentally Cuban. I was 18 years old and about to go on a cruise. I knew nothing about cigars but, having just turned 18, I wanted to take a cigar on the cruise ship. I trekked out to my local B&M and browsed through the selection. I came across the Montecristo Tubos. I thought it was great. It looked great, it smelled great, and I figured it would make a fine nice cigar. Fortunately, I didn't have enough cash in my pocket at the time so I figured I would swing by again some time before the cruise. I never got the chance to do it and was quite disappointed. While on the cruise I was in Mexico having dinner with my parents. As we were leaving a large restaurant with a good cigar selection I spotted the Montecristo Tubos out of the corner of my eye. I asked the lady behind the counter how much one was and she said, "Twenty dollars." I opened up on her, "What?! I can get one of those at home for nine bucks!" She just shrugged and said, "You don't have to buy it." Fuming, I gave her a twenty and figured I wouldn't be on a cruise if I was trying to save money.

Wanting to pick the right time to enjoy my first cigar, I lit it up after a formal dinner on the deck of the ship. I was immediately amazed. It was wonderful. Something about it was much different from the one I had in the store but it was definitely a good different. I inspected the tube thinking perhaps I had accidentally grabbed a different cigar and saw, "Habana".

And the rest is history.

[daboose]

Celebrated the birth of our 1st grandchild with a RyJ bully.