View Full Version : What was your first cigar?
jhedrick83
10-25-2015, 03:04 PM
So Mazin 's post got me thinking about my first cigar. In high school I remember raiding a friend's dad's humidor when he was out of town (which was like every weekend) and smoking in their hot tub. I don't remember what we would smoke, we didn't really care! That was more screwing around and thinking we were cool. The first cigar I seriously smoked were Macanudo Tubos that the coffee shop near my college apartment had in a "humidor". Looking back, they were stored in horrible conditions and I smoked them way too fast but I would always get one with some coffee for late night studying. They are what really started me down the long road to being obsessed with cigars.
So that's my long winded story. What's the first cigar you remember smoking or what cigar really turned you down the road of premium handmades?
It was Dark, Fat, an still light when I picked it up, an my horizons were broadened...Even if I didnt know about horizons at the time...
Sigaar
10-25-2015, 03:37 PM
Not really, sure...thinking a Garcia Y Vega from a 7-11 or similar in the mid 1980s
projectsunfire
10-25-2015, 03:42 PM
I honestly do not remember the very first time I had a cigar. Most likely golfing when I would just grab a whatever out of the display case in the pro shop. I think the first cigar I bought in a cigar shop was a Gurkha Warlord. Terrible cigar but they came in probably one of the coolest boxes ever
Emperor Zurg
10-25-2015, 04:16 PM
I'm 99% sure it was a Swisher Sweet King purchased in a 5 pack from a gas station. Given that, is it any wonder I'm not as enthusiastic about this 'hobby' as many of you? I may have never finished the 5 pack but I tasted that awful thing in my mouth every morning for a week.
The first 'not awful' cigar I tried was a Backwoods Sweet Aromatic. Not awful but not very good.
First decent cigar I tried was a Santa Damiana Churchill purchased from a B&M with an actual humidor. I used to like them quite a bit. They were very very mild. I wonder if they still make them.
jpalamar
10-25-2015, 04:41 PM
First ever was an Acid Blondie... First real cigar was a RP 1990.
AndyCAYP
10-25-2015, 04:46 PM
The only cigars carried in the pro shop where my buddy worked in high school were Romeo y Julietas, so it was more than likely a Churchill. Being underaged and getting cigars at cost plus course time, club rental, and cart rental all for free, was pretty awesome to a 17 year old!
Mazin
10-25-2015, 05:55 PM
Well other than an occasional acid from a shop, my first was a full Cuban Monty. I really think it was wasted on my for my first real gar but it did leave a lasting impression. Btw who knew you could get high off of a stogie lol.
thechasm442
10-25-2015, 06:06 PM
an AyC grenadier that my grandfather let me smoke with him when I was 13.
My first real cigar was a Macanudo Cafe Crystal at age 18.
My first "holy shit, I love cigars" smoke was a Hemmingway Short story 4 years ago.
Bruck
10-25-2015, 06:21 PM
First cigar was probably an RG Dun or Middleton Cherry - used to burn thru those in high school some. The first "good" cigar I had was a Bering. I don't know if they're any good, or if they even make them anymore, but that was the first cigar I remember really enjoying.
Old Smokey
10-25-2015, 06:38 PM
I am not sure, but I think it was either a RP Edge or a NC Montecristo white label. More than likely it was the Edge.
six10
10-25-2015, 08:00 PM
Not really, sure...thinking a Garcia Y Vega from a 7-11 or similar in the mid 1980s
Same here but in the mid to late 90's. I remember grabbing the biggest ones Lol.
gordo1473
10-25-2015, 08:32 PM
Macanudo Hyde park. It was horrible
greige matter
10-25-2015, 08:39 PM
Swisher Sweets. Would always smoke them on my annual trip to Vegas with friends.
Usafvet509
10-25-2015, 08:40 PM
First ever was a little GyV in a plastic tubo with a cork. Angry, hot, nasty POS. First real smoke that turned me down this road? A Victor Sinclair Bohemian, the red corojo one. Still want to find a couple of those to re-visit.
EDIT: I'll see your first, and raise you a head-knocker. My first head-knocker was a La Gloria Cubana Serie R maduro. Turned me 3 shades of green, but I LOVE them now
T.E.Fox
10-26-2015, 04:44 AM
A wee willem! First large format cigar was a Henry Wintermans corona de luxe. First real cigar was a RyJ no1 tubos, which promptly made me green with nicotine poisoning!
Chad Vegas
10-26-2015, 06:20 AM
Not really, sure...thinking a Garcia Y Vega from a 7-11 or similar in the mid 1980s
Yep, same for me! As underage teenagers we would scour for stores that would sell to us. The only store that would do it was a whole in the wall place who's most exotic sounding cigar to our young minds was Garcia Y Vega. Good times!
Tombstone
10-26-2015, 06:30 AM
First cigar I purchased was the Ave Maria. First cigar my wife purchased for me was a Punisher. I was unsure about how to go about smoking a cigar so there they sat in her humidor for a bit while I read articles. I went to my B&M and asked a friend who works there what I should try first. He sold me an Alec Bradley harvest select 97. I was not sure if I had enjoyed it or not. The whole idea of breathe in smoke but not inhale it was hard for me to grasp for a bit. Now I realize most Alec Bradleys are just no my thing flavor profile wise. Now the Ave Maria and Punshier those hit the spot.
steelman
10-26-2015, 07:19 AM
Mine was a pack of Backwoods. We used to get them for fishing trips. Looked just like Clint Eastwood's cigars in his westerns.
DogRockets
10-26-2015, 07:40 AM
For me, like others, was the occasional Macanudo with some buddies during college and after. Nothing serious, 4-6 per year probably, just goofing around.
Then a buddy of mine was coming over to pick something up from my house that he was buying from me, probably 2010ish. The purchase price was a bottle of Maker's Mark. He also brought over 2 cigars for us to smoke with it. Alec Bradley Maxx. Life has never been the same since. That AB Maxx blew me away and I had to have more. I had bought a box of them and a wood humidor within the next month.
Now, all these years later, I still love the Maxx and always have it on hand in the now 5 foot tall wineador. A great smoke, great memory, and great thread jhedrick83 !
WNYTONY
10-26-2015, 08:03 AM
Honestly it was probably a Muriel Air Tip :dork:
My dad wad a piper and occasionally smoked the odd cigar but always with a tip so that's what I could "borrow" back when I was a young lad.
Buying my own would have been some Garcia Y Vega from the gas station and eventually I hit the big time to Macanudo.
Neat thread Jesse
jhedrick83
10-26-2015, 08:18 AM
For me, like others, was the occasional Macanudo with some buddies during college and after. Nothing serious, 4-6 per year probably, just goofing around.
Then a buddy of mine was coming over to pick something up from my house that he was buying from me, probably 2010ish. The purchase price was a bottle of Maker's Mark. He also brought over 2 cigars for us to smoke with it. Alec Bradley Maxx. Life has never been the same since. That AB Maxx blew me away and I had to have more. I had bought a box of them and a wood humidor within the next month.
Now, all these years later, I still love the Maxx and always have it on hand in the now 5 foot tall wineador. A great smoke, great memory, and great thread jhedrick83 !
Honestly it was probably a Muriel Air Tip :dork:
My dad wad a piper and occasionally smoked the odd cigar but always with a tip so that's what I could "borrow" back when I was a young lad.
Buying my own would have been some Garcia Y Vega from the gas station and eventually I hit the big time to Macanudo.
Neat thread Jesse
Thanks guys. I used the think the dried out Macs were awesome. Once I went to a b&m and had someone show me how to properly smoke a cigar, it was all over man. I spent every free cent trying everything that b&m had in stock.
It's always good to keep in mind that we bag on Dog Rockets now, but most of us wouldn't be here without them. Not referring to Uncle Dogrockets, but the cheap cigars. ;)
AlanS
10-26-2015, 08:19 AM
Working at a small country store/gas station with a two mile walk to the bus I started smoking the good $h!t on my hikes. You know SWISHERS the good $h!t, damn they were good too. Just over forty years since I had one, suppose theyre still as tasty? Let me know.
six10
10-26-2015, 09:31 AM
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm163/6ten/Mobile%20Uploads/PicsArt_1445868458457_zpsoandfjan.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/6ten/media/Mobile%20Uploads/PicsArt_1445868458457_zpsoandfjan.jpg.html)
Yeah I think it was these. I remember being nervous buying them for first time because I new absolutely nothing about cigars.
I think I repurchased them like three times and then eventually made my way into their small walk-in humidor (smoke shop).
Then the first premium cigar a few weeks later was a Romeo Julietta Vintage second with really yellow cello. That was the cigar that really opened my eyes.
Went back to my cigar shop and bought the remaining 18 or something, then a humidor, then repeated the process ~ just ~ a few ~ times.
OldSkoolTarHeel
10-26-2015, 01:15 PM
The first I had was either a Drew Estate Natural Pimp Stick, or a Diesel Unholy Cocktail was the first premium cigar I ever smoked. Whatever it was, it had a year of rest on it, and it was good enough to get me to try more.
Rocket Scientologist
10-26-2015, 01:42 PM
I'm pretty sure my first cigar was a Helix I bought from the cigar shop in downtown Annapolis. I don't even think I tried Swisher or Black & Mild until after that.
I attribute my turn down the road of premium cigars to the Rocky Patel Candela.
TreySC
10-26-2015, 02:51 PM
I smoked the occasional black&mild in high school. I think I tried to smoke an actual philly once, but didn't finish it. I wish I could remember the one that really did for me. I was at a bar with a friend in FL we were a few beers in and noticed that they sold cigars there and decided to have one. It was much more enjoyable than any of my other cigar experiences and I haven't looked back since.
jp1979
10-26-2015, 03:36 PM
Phillies Blunt.. .might not count since it was just the wrapper.... :devilgrin:
droy1958
10-26-2015, 05:00 PM
A buddy of mine was selling cigars. I think it was 1995ish. He turned me on to his secret stash from ISOM that he had in his desktop humidor. I grabbed a Romeo y Julieta Churchill. I got higher than a Georgia pine, but ended up smoking cigars and enjoying them...
JollyRogers
10-26-2015, 11:42 PM
First for me was a New Cigar Orleans Factory house made cigar, something light and skinny. Convinced to try it after a drunken evening on bourbon. First time enjoying a cigar was a CAO L'anniversary Cameroon Belicoso at a local cigar bar. That's the one that got me hooked.
allusred
10-27-2015, 12:27 AM
First cigar was probably an RG Dun or Middleton Cherry - used to burn thru those in high school some. The first "good" cigar I had was a Bering. I don't know if they're any good, or if they even make them anymore, but that was the first cigar I remember really enjoying.
up they're still out there, several online outfits have them.
Last one I smoked was back in the 1960s...still Cubans when I first smoked them, as were most of the good cigars in the 1950s,Berings,Garcia Vega,etc.
No idea where they are being produced now tho.
But they were sure good back then...20 - 40 - 60 - 80 cents each...think they stared at about $8.00 per box then went up for the larger sizes.
About 10 days smoking per box. Seems good cigar are a tad higher priced now.
Time and tide...and cigar prices wait for no Cigarbum.
And, by the way Bering was first with the* Nub*, they sold boxes of shorts (honest that was the name, little stubby cigars. Likely no more than $5.00 per box.
allusred
10-27-2015, 12:40 AM
Thanks for the thread Jesse ( jhedrick83)...a trip down Memory Lane for sure...going to have me burning some tobacco well into the wee small hours now.
Engineer99
10-28-2015, 04:56 AM
I had the good fortune of guys with great taste usher me into the world of fine cigars. They foisted upon me El Rey Del Mundos and H Upmanns in the late 90s and if I wasn't totally sold at that point, they sold me a Cuban Punch corona and Monte #2 from their Canada run. The Monte, to this day 18 years later, is still one of the best cigars I ever smoked. Yes, it was that memorable and I distinctly remember smoking that thing to the nub.
x man
10-30-2015, 02:12 AM
Hav a Tampa jewels in 1966
defetis
10-30-2015, 08:28 AM
I knew I was screwed after my first cigar when I was 16. Padron thousand series. Robusto ish size whichever that was
Demuths1770
11-03-2015, 01:33 PM
my first cigar was a Helix Maduro when i turned 18. The rest is now history as they say lol
Hardheaded
11-03-2015, 01:54 PM
Lets see here. Its only been two years, but still have to think back a bit. I believe my first was a Baccarrat, follower with an Arturo Fuente Curly Head natural. Neither of which I particularly enjoyed. For some reason I stuck with it, trying a horrible Rocky Patel Royal Vintage, several victor sinclairs, and a few gas station cigars.
What finally sold me on cigars was my first Diesel UHC. That thing knocked me around pretty good but I loved the flavor. Been hooked ever since, and the shop that sold me that first Diesel is now one of my favorite shops.
Zeede
11-03-2015, 03:44 PM
My first cigar was a Via Havana, which my friend thought was Cuban (but it's not). I then had a Macanudo Cafe Crystal, and got seriously green from it (empty stomach, nothing to drink, both a recipe for disaster).
The next cigar I had was a Camacho Connecticut Toro, which I nubbed, and enjoyed immensely. :)
jhedrick83
11-03-2015, 03:52 PM
My first cigar was a Via Havana, which my friend thought was Cuban (but it's not).
You sure, Cameron? The name clearly indicates otherwise. ;)
White Owl's were my first, they were flavored and we liked that as teenagers. Then smoked RyJ's mostly for some years on and off till I got bit by the bug and bought a humidor and samplers.
Ilroy
11-04-2015, 12:43 PM
Some cheap store bought 5 pack cigars...don't even remember what brand. Not memorable at all.
Got into good cigars many years later, but just once in awhile til late last year when I had one or two a day while vacationing in Cayman.
BryGuySC
11-09-2015, 02:38 PM
CAO America Robusto.
Found it in the parking lot outside of a local B&M in the middle of the night. Thought, "What the heck. Might as well!" and smoked that sucker when I got home.
The first cigar that got me hooked (and got me sick) was Arturo Fuente Don Carlos #2.
NeverBend
11-10-2015, 07:35 AM
It was 1965, I was 11.
Jose Edmundo. Looked large but was probably a corona, ~5 x 44-rg as a guess. Made in Jamaica and was pricey at 70c, (Fuente Curly Head was 7/$1.00). I'll always remember the flavor, some of the molasses sweetness to be expected from Jamaica with a mild cross of Honduran, of the period, like Punch. The owner of the store selected it for me.
bluenoser
11-10-2015, 12:02 PM
Used to smoke the colts/captain blacks but never really considered them a "Cigar", first real cigar was a century Sam I bought at the grocery store I worked at. They were sitting in an open bucket covered in dust on the cigarette shelf for a few years un humidified. Worst 5 minutes of my life. Amazed I ever came back to cigars.
Tombstone
11-10-2015, 12:08 PM
CAO America Robusto.
Found it in the parking lot outside of a local B&M in the middle of the night. Thought, "What the heck. Might as well!" and smoked that sucker when I got home.
The first cigar that got me hooked (and got me sick) was Arturo Fuente Don Carlos #2.
That's my kind of bum. Parking lot stogie for the win.
AlanS
11-10-2015, 12:09 PM
CAO America Robusto.
Found it in the parking lot outside of a local B&M in the middle of the night. Thought, "What the heck. Might as well!" and smoked that sucker when I got home.
The first cigar that got me hooked (and got me sick) was Arturo Fuente Don Carlos #2.
Ditto on the Don Carlos, first one turned me all kinds of green!
BryGuySC
11-10-2015, 12:30 PM
That's my kind of bum. Parking lot stogie for the win.
Just to be clear, it was unsmoked and still in the cellophane!
allusred
11-10-2015, 03:15 PM
Used to smoke the colts/captain blacks but never really considered them a "Cigar", first real cigar was a century Sam I bought at the grocery store I worked at. They were sitting in an open bucket covered in dust on the cigarette shelf for a few years un humidified. Worst 5 minutes of my life. Amazed I ever came back to cigars.
Once you start with quality like that well aged "Century Sam" you will be hooked. As you were.
allusred
11-10-2015, 03:20 PM
Just to be clear, it was unsmoked and still in the cellophane!
That admission may well cost you the top spot.
Tombstone
11-10-2015, 04:31 PM
Just to be clear, it was unsmoked and still in the cellophane!
Sure it was... what ever you say buddy.
BryGuySC
11-10-2015, 11:59 PM
That admission may well cost you the top spot.
Dang it!
Elco69
11-12-2015, 06:04 PM
RP 1990 for me. Father tried coming back into my life after being pretty much absent for 30+yrs. Turns out he is still a DB, but there was one good takeaway.....CIGARS!
droy1958
11-12-2015, 06:10 PM
RP 1990 for me. Father tried coming back into my life after being pretty much absent for 30+yrs. Turns out he is still a DB, but there was one good takeaway.....CIGARS!
Hey buddy! Good to see you here!...I like cigars....
Elco69
11-12-2015, 06:12 PM
Hey buddy! Good to see you here!...I like cigars....
Hey David! Kinda getting tired of the other place, try to have fun and keep getting the kibosh, maybe you will se me around here more.
droy1958
11-12-2015, 06:27 PM
Hey David! Kinda getting tired of the other place, try to have fun and keep getting the kibosh, maybe you will se me around here more.
I ain't skeered (afraid).... ;)
Elco69
11-12-2015, 06:32 PM
I ain't skeered (afraid).... ;)
:)
Haebar
11-12-2015, 06:40 PM
The first cigars I ever had were Swisher Sweets. When I was 13-14, we would smoke them when we floated down the Chattahoochee River in Georgia.
My first premium cigar was a Punch robusto, a little over 20 years ago.
Desertlifter
11-21-2015, 01:29 AM
Like many of us, a Swisher or two while I was in the army. Didn't really pick up the hobby until much later.
First real cigars as an Avo XO Intermezzo. Picked it up at the Davidoff store in the Venetian in Vegas, carried it down to the Paris, and burned it with a cocktail in the bar that sits in the middle of the casino area while my wife and sisters in law played slots. Still one of my favorites.