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May 2, 2020
4,664
23,771
Louisiana
Love a good cigar. I will say that becoming a pipe smoker has made me able to enjoy my cigars more than ever. I think the fact that pipes force you to build a habit of taking it slow really opens up the flavors of cigars more.

As for leaf, I love it all, pretty much the same with pipe tobacco. I just smoke whatever I’m in the mood for. Sometimes a spicy Nicaraguan powerhouse, sometimes a Connecticut shade-wrapped easygoing Dominican. I think I just love tobacco, period. ?‍♂️
 

instymp

Lifer
Jul 30, 2012
2,420
1,029
We have a cigar bar just just down the road from my house. I used to really enjoy going there. My wife would even pick out a stick to enjoy, sometimes I had to pull her leash when she would start laughing at the men buying a vanilla stick, ha ha. She'd be all like, "do you need a maxi pad with that," and I could feel an impending bar room brawl coming on, ha ha.

But, yeh, I stopped going there, because I can stand a barroom fight, but I can't stand that stupid, "Cuban seed" discussion, or this brand, blah blah blah. It's like they all have these discussion memorized from a magazine article and just puke it out on everyone's shoes.
Glad pipe smokers don't do that crap!!
 

instymp

Lifer
Jul 30, 2012
2,420
1,029
I’m not 100% sure, but at least no one hires folks like that to work the counters at any of the pipe shops I’ve been to.
Was referring to,
"But, yeh, I stopped going there, because I can stand a barroom fight, but I can't stand that stupid, "Cuban seed" discussion, or this brand, blah blah blah. It's like they all have these discussion memorized from a magazine article and just puke it out on everyone's shoes"
LOL
 
May 2, 2020
4,664
23,771
Louisiana
I’m not 100% sure, but at least no one hires folks like that to work the counters at any of the pipe shops I’ve been to.
If you’re talking about the kind of characters I think you’re talking about, I just shrug it off. The ones that just regurgitate whatever they read in the latest issue of Cigar Afficionado? You know good and damn well most of the guys like that probably couldn’t even tell you what kind of leaf was in that cigar if they were blindfolded. But I figure if they’re enjoying themselves, I’ll just roll my eyes and let them have their fun. It’s not hurting me any. And then there are some real connoisseurs out there that actually do know their shit and have excellent palates, but neither have any bearing on what I like to smoke, so I just don’t pay it much mind.
 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
We have a cigar bar just just down the road from my house. I used to really enjoy going there. My wife would even pick out a stick to enjoy, sometimes I had to pull her leash when she would start laughing at the men buying a vanilla stick, ha ha. She'd be all like, "do you need a maxi pad with that," and I could feel an impending bar room brawl coming on, ha ha.

But, yeh, I stopped going there, because I can stand a barroom fight, but I can't stand that stupid, "Cuban seed" discussion, or this brand, blah blah blah. It's like they all have these discussion memorized from a magazine article and just puke it out on everyone's shoes.
This sounds exactly like what I would expect to hear at a Pipesmoking lounge from a bunch of guys talking about the age of the Briar in their Castello pipes.
 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
And, no offence to the tatted gentlemen of this forum, but what is up with face and neck tattoos on guys working in cigar lounges? Is that just here in the South? I would think if I was wanting to cater to a classy clientele, I would avoid hiring someone with evil skulls and four letter words etched into their faces.

I mean, I have no problem with tattoos on people. Some are actually works of art, but when you have things like "DIE SCUM" and skulls and swastikas on your face or neck, you are showing a serious hatred of life in general. One of the lounges in my town was closed down because the employees raped a girl who walked in to buy some cigars. I mean, it's not a cheap investment to start a cigar humidor. Those things aren't cheap. Why ruin it all by hiring these guys?
I've never been in a pipe shop that had this.
In general I'm not too keen on tattoos. Now the full body tat folk are beyond the pale to me. Then when we graduate to the facially tatted they are downright scary. I hear that cons in federal lockup who are never getting out are big on this. Scary.
 
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pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,132
7,517
Terra Firma
I've been a cigar smoker for over 15 years before finally trying and gravitating to the pipe early in the pandemic. I've tried lots of different cigars over the years and settled into buying and aging Havanas followed in second place by Dominicans. The vitolas of choice are skinny, with the Hoyo de Monterrey du Gourmet, La Gloria Cubana Medallie d'Oro no 1-4, the premium Marevas (HUPC, RAPC, ERDM PC, Monte 4), and the lowly Por Larrañaga Montecarlos making up the bulk of my buys for years. Sadly, most of those listed have been discontinued, to free up tobacco for the endless parade of Regional and other special releases.

The supply of Havanas and their skyrocketing pricing has induced me to explore other areas, either new cigars, or ones I had not had in a long while. There have been some misses, but perhaps the wide variety of pipe tobacco I've been enjoying has opened up my palate to enjoying different profiles. I still enjoy a Padron a couple times per year, but I usually go Illusione for my Nicaraguan fix, or the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño - the little Machito is fantastic.

I even found a Honduran I enjoy, after avoiding them for years. The Aladino Corojo is made with much the same tobacco as the classic Camacho Corojo (before David off bought and ruined the brand). It's more refined and elegant, but still has a bit of the kick and classic flavors from the Tabacos Jamastran Camacho.

Now if only they'd resurrect the Camacho Havana (don't care what they call it). Those were hard to see get discontinued - simply fantastic cigars that I would put up against any everyday Cuban.
 

Dave4211

Might Stick Around
May 15, 2020
63
141
Tennessee
I believe it was the Garcia y Vega Panatela that I used to buy by the box of 50. I remember that box costed around 20 dollars, and this was in the early 2000s here in SE Tennessee. At the time, I smoked Mammoth Cave Twist in my pipes and chewed it, as well. I tried most every cheap cigar I could find locally, and then I stuck with the Garcia y Vegas.

Those drugstore Italian ones are good, but they're really too strong for me. I can handle a lot of nicotine, but there's a limit somewhere in there.

The Backwoods cigars always seemed to be packed too tight for proper smoking. More expensive cigars have often had some shitting thing wrong with the draw, too.

So, I stuck mostly with Garcia y Vegas.

Anything unflavored is probably acceptable to me. Or mildly flavored. And strong.

Oh yeah, those little Al Capone cigarillos. I used to smoke those sometimes. Obviously flavored, but they taste like liquor and tobacco, and the tobacco taste is still very much there.

I like pipes and hand-rolled cigarettes. You can smoke a pipe after it's been rained in every day for three weeks. You can smoke it in the rain. You can smoke soaked and then dried tobacco dust. In the rain. If you have a pipe.

Cigars are delicate critters.

So, I smoke a pipe 99% of the time unless I fall back to smoking cigarettes. I keep a pack of rolling papers in my tobacco pouch. Same tobacco in both. Cherokee in the red bag.

It'll do ok for chewing, too, in a pinch.IMG_20210914_210453398.jpg
 
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jon11

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 25, 2013
619
591
Been smoking cigars for over 20 years. Love a good cigar. I have a shitload of them from Cubans, Nicaraguans and Dominicans. I smoke my cigars equal time that I smoke my pipes. My current favorite cigar is Warped GR88, can’t get enough of them. I seem to gravitate towards Nicaraguan cigars lately while my Cubans just sit. I love the sweet and spicy flavor profile of Nicaraguan tobacco.
 

didimauw

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 28, 2013
9,895
31,635
34
Burlington WI
Ok....

I thought you were going to say people don't actually enjoy cigars but do it anyways.

I got really into cigars during my cousin's wedding. He was gifted a Cuban by a friend that went to Cuba, to the farm, and facility and brought some back.
That cigar was incredible. My cousin doesn't even smoke, so he took two puffs from it and gave it to me.

Since then I've been trying to find something similar. However, I'm a cheap ass. So a 5 dollar Padrone is as much as I'll spend. I like the Maduro and the regulars. But I only smoke cigars maybe once a month. Maybe less.

I was given a cigar by a friend who's way into cigars, a few weeks ago. We were at a bar, in the beer garden. Not sure what it was, but boy oh boy was it terrible. He did a terrible job of cutting it, it was dry and flaking, and it tasted like cardboard. I got 3/4 of the way and had to put it out.

Now I gotta show him what the pipe life is like. He should be an easy convert. Maybe even convince him to ditch the garbage cigars lol.
 

mortonbriar

Lifer
Oct 25, 2013
2,653
5,663
New Zealand
When I was working part time at a tobacconist a few years ago, I was required to take home free cigars each week to smoke as 'homework'. I really, really enjoyed learning the world of cigars but at the end of each smoke I would say to myself "Well that was nice, but not as nice as a pipe". I would gladly smoke a cigar if someone gave me one, but I will never bother keeping a humidor or buying them...except maybe a 5 pack of backwoods, (the purple packet) the cheap aromatic of cigars ha.