Introduction/Bad cigars do come around

[KWG116]

I have been a member of FOH for a few years. I do not post often but log on at least three to four times a day and read what is going on. I usually post in the Daily Smoking section. The reason for this is I had a Blackberry for years and it was a pain to post anything more than a paragraph or two. I have been smoking cigars for years and started while I was at Penn State and ended up working for a few cigar shops in college, back then I smoked all the different NC's. Three to four a day, so many LGC Serie R,Tats Padrons etc. After college I landed a job at a cigar shop and sold high end pipes, eventually had a large pipe collection and got to travel to europe and visit pipe makers and pipe factories. My dream job. After a few years of that I got burnt out and got a job with a small finance company, I am the first employee of the company.

I have been collecting cigars for quite a few years. My collection first started out with PC's and smaller, my thinking was I could build a collection but not spend a lot on money, how naive was I. Most of my first boxes were the usual Shorts, Principes,BPC's,PLPC's etc. I had a bunch of small desktops but got tired of the same cigars. After 20 BPC's you want something different. That all changed when I did a trade with Yossie a few years ago for a cab of RASS. I still have 33 of them. Ended up buying an Avallo because a cab does not fit in a desktop and quickly ran out of room. Now I have a pretty good collection and have started buying other cigars like 898's,CCE,Sir Winstons etc. Can not believe I would ever spend 300 on one box, where before I could have purchased three to four boxes. But I guess life changes and tastes change. Still love my petite coronas and merevas.

This brings me to this morning, my Shar Pei puppy was not feeling good yesterday and this morning was one of those mornings I did not want to crate him for half the day, so I decided to take the day off. Was going to take the rest of my NC's to a friends humidor this weekend to store them, since I am out of room again and wanted the space. The only cuban box I was going to store there was a 99 box of Monte Esp #1's. These were purchased during the "sale" cigars of 99-01. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who let me purchase a bunch of boxes through him. I was in heaven. Although I could not afford them ( I always tell my self that) I purchased quite a few boxes. Most were good (QD Coronas,Bolivar CE,LGC #1's,Punch Coronas) and some bad (SLR A,VR Familiars). And this box of Monte's. I remember when I first got them I took four to the golf course to smoke with my cigar shop friends. I was so excited to share my first box of real vintage cigars. We all lit them up and by the second hole, the look on everyones faces I could tell they all hated them. Bitter, nasty and disappointing. I was afraid all my new "vintage" cigars would be this way. Over the years I would smoke an Esp #1 here and there and they were always terrible. Little did I know then about the issues of those years, I was just excited to be able to purchase them at the prices I paid. Four years later, I gave them one last chance before they were going to be stored with my NC's. I took one out this morning around 8 am with a good cup of ice coffee and proceeded to have one of the best cigars I smoked this year. Chocolate, coffee and cedar replaced the bitter tannic cigar I was expecting. Instead of the light whispy smoke this had a thick smoke that seemed to coat my palate. The cigar did not evolve much, but considering what they have tasted like over the years this one was incredible. I know this could be the fluke of the box, but it is so exciting to think that the whole box was not a dud, even if only three or four out of the 12 remaining are good all the bad cigars I smoked from this box would make it all worthwhile. I am hoping they finally matured and the rest will be good. This was medium bodied and full flavored. Before they were so bitter I would smoke about 2/3's and through it away. This one I nubbed. All the while my puppy slept nicely on the deck next to me.

Now I hope that box of sealed 07 CCE's I purchased will turn out good. I cracked the box last week and had one of the most bland cigars I have ever had.

I am going to make an effort to post more, I have learned so much from FOH.

Thank you

kwg116

[khomeinist]

Nice post. You address a lot of the complicated issues regarding our hobby. Is a box a dud or does it need time to evolve?

You still into pipes?

[anacostiakat]

Nice review. I was lucky with the stock I got from the "bad" years. Most was smokeable and not too many plugged ones.

How is your pei? I am on my second female and male pair. Fantastic dogs!

[KWG116]

Guys, thanks for replying.

Khomeinist, I still have part of my collection of pipes. I have sold a lot of them and have only kept the pipes that smoke good. I had great experiences in the pipe industry. I have visited all of the Danish carvers like S Bang,Eltang, Chonowitsch (before his wife got sick) Ivarrson etc. Great people. I have stopped buying pipes and would like to get my collection to less than 20. I currently collect tobacco (like cigars). I have a lot of that I am aging. If you ever have any questions on pipes (or anyone else) please feel free to ask me.

Anacostiakat, my stock was pretty good regarding plugged cigars, but the bad boxes were stored incorrectly, some taste like unfermented tobacco and still taste like ammonia. But I still have hope after the Esp #1 experience. My VR Familiars were good at first, but went down hill, I think they may be expired. My Bolivar CE's fluctuate between ok and bad, but they might come around. Best ones were my LGC's and Punch Coronas, I ended up getting a few boxes of each after the sale.

My Pei is doing good. He will be 12 weeks this Sunday. he had a fever two weeks ago so we were concerned about Pei fever. Then Wednesday he acted a little weird in morning, tired and did not eat. So we were worried, but he was fine by the afternoon. We are watching him close, hope does not have the fever issue. He is a great dog, a little bad and chews on everything. He is a bear coat. Do you have brush coats.

Thank you

kwg116

[ajgagnon]

Glad to hear your pup is ok. We've got a Shar Pei cross too. What a loving and loyal dog. But perhaps not the brightest, and boy is she hard-headed. This morning she came over and laid down next to me and put her head on my shoulder to visit. Good dogs.

Hey, from your experience with pipes and pipe tobacco, do you have any ideas for how to cure tobacco to be more suitable for pipes? I grew some in the yard (in Canada!), and still have a good stash that I'd like to seal up with some aromatics and allow to ferment (I tried first in small bales of leaves for making cigars, but I don't think it was a complete ferment by any means). I tried one ziplock with a splash of rum (Guayabita del Pinar) and it's definitely odd. Fun though, I guess.

This weekend I think I need a decent cigar though... maybe a Siglo IV or an Epicure #2.

[KWG116]

Atchbo,

Thanks for your reply. My Shar Pei is great, sometimes a maniac and very stubborn. We sat out on the deck this morning (with another Monte Esp #1) and he went from jumping on me, licking me, biting me and barking at the dog accross the road then proceeded to run laps around our small condo until he finally crashed and took a long nap. He keeps life very interesting, just like having a kid.

As far as the tobacco, not really sure on curing. You can contact Craig Tarler at Cornell and Diehl, they are a tobacco blender in the states and he loves to talk tobacco. Also check out GL Pease's website and send him an email. He will be able to lead you in the right direction. Let me know how it turns out.

Thank you

kwg116

[amosnaim]

very nice post