Which smoke sent you down the slippery slope?

[pektel]

I'm sure there are lots who remember the first smoke that made them fall in love with it. Mine was a couple months ago. My mom's boyfriend brought me back a Cohiba from Mexico (let's not get into whether or not it's fake. I'm guessing it was, but whatever. It was still miles ahead of the machine rolled crap I had ever tried before). I looked at it and wondered "Why would he get me a cigar? I don't smoke cigars..."

So on the way home, I picked up a bottle of cognac. Went out on the deck, and lit her up. I got about an inch into it, and thought "Why haven't I been smoking cigars?!?" And thus it began.

Here is a pic I took that fateful day:

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t228/pektel/cohiba-1.jpg

[darkleeroy]

Honestly, my second cigar did it for me. I read on CS way back that you should always buy 2 to give an honest opinion on a cigar. Floored myself with the first one by incinerating it in 15 minutes. Came back to CS, learned the appropriate way to smoke a cigar, tried again... and here we are, almost 5 years later.

Ironically, I'd probably politely decline a Rare Corojo today.

[E.J.]

Almost one year ago.... Watching the BYU vs Tulane game on television, waiting for my neighbor to get home. I had purchased a PAM '64 Exclusivo for him(he is a cigar smoker) and while waiting, my curiosity got the better of me and I fired it up.... I was floored.... Went back to the B&M after I finishing and bought 2 more. When my neighbor returned home, went over and had a few drinks and smoked another with him....

After smoking what must have been hundreds of poorly stored dog rockets....maybe even a few decent smokes that sat out in our arid climate for weeks on end.....I finally had a GREAT CIGAR..... That was it....and here I am....

[Emjaysmash]

Sancho Panza Double Maduro Quixote.

[ucla695]

The MC2!! :dr

[The Poet]

You wanna know the honest truth here? I quit cigarettes maybe 15 years ago, and smoked nothing for several years. Then, maybe 7 or 8 years ago, I saw an ad for a bundle of cigars and a humidor for around $25. As it was nearing my birthday, I decided to treat myself to a little somethin' somethin'. So the cigar that sent me down the slope was a cheap bundled dogrocket from Thompson's. :r


I have not looked back, though I have seriously upgraded my tastes. :tu

[JDTexan]

I think my first real CC was a Monte 2 and it was over from there.

[kaisersozei]

I don't remember my very first, cause it was back in the 80's and it was part of what I know as a PPP. Soon after that I made my first purchase, and I'm pretty sure it was a Davidoff. Cause that's what the guys I worked with smoked. My first cc was with my then-BIL on vacation at OBX, and it was a RyJ tubo.

I smoked on & off for a number of years--usually the same few brands--and then took a "cigar break" for a long time. About 4-5 years ago, I picked up an Acid :lv at a Long Beach B&M and I got roped back in. I only smoked that one Acid, but it opened my eyes to the variety of what was on the market.

And a few years after that, I found Club Stogie. And it's been downhill ever since.

[dwoodward]

http://tonycasas.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/acid_kuba_kuba_1.jpg

[RevSmoke]

Arturo Fuente Rothschild.

[Pass]

The first real cigar I smoked was a CC Montecristo 2 torpedo. It was reallllyyy good to me. But I frankly knew nothing about cigars... So after that I bought a few dog rockets that "looked" good. I didn't like them much. Stuck to my cigarettes and then I was introduced to cigars again. I can't remember the brand now... but I liked what I smoked. So I kind of got back into it. But didn't fall in love and went off and on for a couple of more years. Then **cue the Choir of Angels** the LFD DL700 Maduro. That one sent me plummeting down the slope. So now I'm back at it and determined to do it right this time!

[kgraybill]

Padron 64 Principe natural.

[Big_Ern]

it was a Mac Diplomat and I was absolutely taken away by it. by coming across the mac and looking for other great cigars I have come across the comradery of a cigar smoker. this is what has kept me coming back for more.:banger:banger

[bigswol2]

Chateau Fuente Natural.... infact it still does it for me.

[bobarian]

I had smoked several Cubans over the years with friends while tailgating. But the smoke that got me started was a Punch Rare Corojo gifted to me by a former supervisor. Although I no longer smoke many NC's I think I still have one of the Rare Corojo's from the first box I ever bought. :banger

[GolfNut]

Mine was a Sancho Panza Maduro as well. That was a couple years ago. Never knew a cigar could be so good. Previously had only had a Swisher Sweet (ugh).
Sad thing is, for some reason I haven't had another SP since that first one! I got into the REAL world of cigars and found there are so many good ones it's hard to NOT try new ones all the time.

[JJG]

Padron 3000. bought a 5 pack within a week and from there it was just downhill

[Brutus2600]

For me it was the Nub cigar. I've smoked cigars fairly consistently for about 5 years now, but when I smoked a couple Nubs around March of this year, I found their website, their forum, joined their forum, decided I wanted to find another cigar forum and googled for one and...ended up here.

So while the Nub facilitated me finding this forum...it was really this forum that started me going down the slippery slope :r

[ValorBali41]

It was a Montecristo Double Corona (non-cuban).

[druturn]

Hoyo De Monterrey Dark Sumatra. Despite being a few years into this hobby, it is still to date one of my favorite cigars on the market.

[Volcodom]

a little over a year ago my buddy acquired for me a backwoods grape flavored cigarillio which tasted distinctly like cheap grape pop. So for about a month I smoked cheap machine mades of all brands and sizes. Then came a magical day when I tried a Dominican sweet cognac cigar. I realized that all the turds I had smoked before were somehow inferior. One or two weeks later I asked for a suggestion from the cashier. It was a macanudo robust baron Rothschild. It was delicious the flavors blew my young mind away, but even that cigar didn't fully get me onto fine hand rolled smokes as I would still puff a B&M wine. No the real cigar that hooked me was a Cuvee blanc. The finest cigar I had ever smoked, I never again smoked a machine made and never will if I can help it. And my temptation to get some Alec Bradlys should tell you how just a year can get you so into the beauty of fine smokes-(P

[dwoodward]

And my temptation to get some Alec Bradlys should tell you how just a year can get you so into the beauty of fine smokes-(P

I wouldn't call Alec Bradley's fine smokes... tho they are good smokes, I wouldn't exactly consider them something "fine".

[fhrblig]

I want to say it was AVO #3 Tubos. I've had a couple of near-religious smokes with those. Once was when I was on vacation just out bumming around town, driving from Littleton to Castle Rock on US85. Great sunset and a great smoke. Another was couple years after that when I was in Detroit for NAIAS; my hotel was in Windsor, and I somehow wound up with a smoking room which I didn't even know was still possible. I burned a couple in my hotel room while watching the NFL divisional playoffs. It was just awesome. Note to self: pick up some AVOs.

[icehog3]

A Bolivar Royal Corona from the Havana Humidor in Nassau, Bahamas.

[Cigarcop]

A Bolivar Royal Corona from the Havana Humidor in Nassau, Bahamas.


I would have to say that one myself Tom, although I still have one from a mutual friend that I haven't dared to torch yet...but I hear it took him down this slope!!

I just look at it from time to time!!

[icehog3]

I would have to say that one myself Tom, although I still have one from a mutual friend that I haven't dared to torch yet...but I hear it took him down this slope!!

I just look at it from time to time!!

Cigars were meant to be smoked, Keith...and I am sure our mutual friend would agree. :)

[Apoco]

Helix. I was 16, and enjoyed doing something that I always thought of as very classy. I was doomed form the start :)

[macsauce13]

Honestly? Cream black and mild. I was 18, and bought it on my birthday. Haven't stopped since then!

[forgop]

5 Vegas torpedos that I was buying bundles off of yahoo auctions for $20/bundle. There's no way you could find a better stick at that price.

[W.B.]

For me there were two. One was the La Gloria Cubana Wavell Maduro, back before Ernesto sold his ownership of the brand. I had one and it was marvelous. The shop guy at the local mall cigar store told me hold your shorts this is going to be strong for you but it's fantastic and it was. The next was the Don Carlos #3,my childhood buddy and me went to downtown Chicago back when it was treat to go and not a headache, that was quite a few years ago. The shop guy told me spend the extra dough and I think you'll love this. At the time it was $8 for the stick(downtown prices) and was $5-$6 dollars more than I'd normally spend on a weekend cigar. Well it was fantastic, that was the first time I remember identifying a note in a cigar....leather. Ever since than, I've fell in love with cigars and always love a stogie with a nice leather note. Unfortunately, LGC is no where near what I remember and the #3 no longer has for me that great leather tone. Now cigars for me are much more of an interest and love my daily moments with cigars and my BoTL.

[Emjaysmash]

I wouldn't call Alec Bradley's fine smokes... tho they are good smokes, I wouldn't exactly consider them something "fine".

...and I would consider them fine smokes.

Different stokes for different folks.

[darkleeroy]

A Bolivar Royal Corona from the Havana Humidor in Nassau, Bahamas.

I'm pretty sure that cigar, in that location would send anyone down the slope. Having seen your aristocrat in the humidor thread though, I would call it more of a base jump rather than slope.

[Yardgnome]

After a few months of smoking the cheapest stuff I could find online, I went to a local B&M, they recommended the VSG, it's been all downhill since then.

[DoctaJ]

A Rocky Patel Vintage 1990. I still remember distinctively tasting cherry about half way through and at that time had no idea cigars could give such flavor profiles. Needless to say that put me down the slope :D

[icehog3]

I'm pretty sure that cigar, in that location would send anyone down the slope. Having seen your aristocrat in the humidor thread though, I would call it more of a base jump rather than slope.

Base jump...I like that, Josh. :)

[whodeeni]

It was a Nicaraguan Puro that my friend gave me May 31, 2009!
We were at a seminar together and he'd spent a couple hours
telling me about cigars, their nuances, their benefits, the difference
between puffing a cigar vs. inhaling cigarettes, how Michael Jordan
started smoking and why, etc....

That fateful day after our seminar he pulled out the stogie, taught
me how to light it, and the rest is history... I stumbled back to my
rental car, got the munchies while rushing back to LAX from Anaheim on
the 415 loving the rush that I got from that full bodied stick!

I was hooked brothers!:r

[bsmokin]

I think my first real CC was a Monte 2 and it was over from there.

:tpd: Same story for me too... :tu I'm guessing, with as overly popular as the Monte 2 is, this is probably a fairly common story...

Great thread! :tu

[xapa97]

First Push: My buddy brought cigars to my bachelor party. He stored them in his freezer for about a week. The cigars were dried out. I couldn't keep it lit. It was cold and windy...it was great!

Second Push: Another friend (Dirty D from CS) gifted me an Oliva Serie V....Game Over.

[kydsid]

I dunno cigars are like boobs to me, I wanna see and fondle everyone I see. I'm just addicted. :D

[JJG]

I bought a Padron 3000 at the B&M today because of this thread. :tu

but yeah, I guess I'm a bit of a boob man myself, lol.

[Darrell]

I wouldn't call Alec Bradley's fine smokes... tho they are good smokes, I wouldn't exactly consider them something "fine".

I would not consider your Gurkha Micro Batch or Perdomo's fine smokes either. :2

I'd rather smoke my sandal than either of those.

[MajorCaptSilly]

It's different levels for me:

Teenager: Hava Tampa Jewels & Parodi's
20's: Macanudo's
30's: AF 8-5-8's, LGC Wavells, & Puch Rothschilds
40's: Bolivar Petit Coronas, Monte #2 & #4, VR Unico, Pepin, Tats, Man O War, Diesel, Kristoff, etc, etc.

The gist of it is, I have been smoking and enjoying cigars since my teens but as my financial means get better, I enjoy them more.

MCS

[MajorCaptSilly]

I would not consider your Gurkha Micro Batch or Perdomo's fine smokes either. :2

I'd rather smoke my sandal than either of those.

How long have been wearing the sandal prior to smoking? I believe age is important in this case.


MCS

[darkleeroy]

How long have been wearing the sandal prior to smoking? I believe age is important in this case.


MCS

Definitely, I had this one sandal that had only been aged a couple of months, and it was nothing to write home about. The sandal I had that was aged years had that salty tang that people seek.