My first cigar, an all time favorite!

Most cigar lovers will be able to fondly remember their first cigar that they tried. Sometimes, it brings a sense of nostalgia to think about it. Often, it makes you want to recapture the moment. But what can you do when the brand you started with goes out of business? My first cigar was a Casa de Nicaragua. I had been smoking pipe tobacco up until then, and had tried a few flavored cigars which I don't really count as real cigars since the flavoring masks the natural wonderfulness of a true hand-rolled cigar. My wife wanted to give me a special present, so she took me to our local cigar shop. She had the man in the shop help select a box of cigars for me. It happened to be Casa de Nicaragua. We moved to another city and the box was stored away in our garage. By the time I opened the box again it had been about a year. That year had worked some magic on my cigars, they had aged wonderfully in our garage! They were smooth, mild, and full of wonderful creamy cigar flavor. Pleasant from start to finish! Well by the time I finished that box, I was hooked and have been smoking cigars regularly ever since. For several years I was able to get the Casa de Nicaragua in several big ring sizes - Presidente, Gigante, and Viagigante. The large ring size seemed to help guarantee the smoothness and the well balanced flavor of the cigars. The only problem was that some boxes had problems with the cigars unraveling or plugging. Well, they finally stopped selling them. Luckily, I had already learned the joy of trying samples of different brands. The variety of flavors is a journey to be taken by a cigar smoker. It is a shame that I will not be able to return to my Casa de Nicaragua cigars, but I will fondly reminisce about them as I try new cigars. If you are a cigar lover, tell me about your first cigar.

What do I enjoy with my cigar?

I love smoking a cigar in the afternoon or evening, and I usually have a drink and some kind of snack (treat) with it. This can be a little complex, because it is important to match the flavors so they don't clash. Let's start with the drink first. I usually have a Cafe Mocha latte from Starbucks. This matches most of my cigars well. Sometimes I might be in the mood for something strong and then I will get out the scotch. If I want something with a fruit flavor I get out a bottle of wine (Smoking Loon). On a hot afternoon I might have a beer, or a White Russian with ice. I don't drink alcohol often but it is nice with a cigar. Now for the snacks. I normally have a coffee cake with my coffee. If I don't have any coffee cake I might have some Scottish shortbread. If I am having alcohol, I might have a nice cheese like Huntsman cheese, or Jarlsberg. If you smoke cigars, let me know what you like to have with yours!