10 Things You Should Never Do As a Cigar Smoker

A few years ago, Cigar Aficionado ran an article entitled "10 Things You Should Never Do As a Cigar Smoker." These are pretty much commonsense things -

Cut Off Too Much Cigar
Inhale Your Cigar
Put A Half-smoked Cigar In Your Humidor

But there are a couple that seem to elude even seasoned smokers.

How many times have to seen someone Stub Out Their Cigar? Or Tell Someone How To Smoke Their Cigar? This last is one that crops up occasionally at the cigar lounge. Most people offer friendly suggestions or advice when asked. But there always seems to be that one guy who "knows" everything about cigars.

Don't be that guy.

Balmoral Serie Signaturas Dueto

This is the premium selection of their line. It is a smooth, medium'ish smoke with a rich flavor that starts with a touch of spiciness and evolves into a nice peppery finish. From Cigar.com -

Dueto features an eye-catching Nicaraguan leaf atop Brazilian and Nicaraguan long-fillers. Presenting a medium-bodied profile, this premium is off the charts with exemplary notes of rich earthiness, roasted nuts, and a slight sweetness.

This is a very tasty collaboration between Boris Wintermans and Ernesto Perez-Carrillo

Cigar Knowledge Poster

This graphic is a good depiction of some basic cigar information. One thing of note. The size of cigars is not standard throughout the industry. One cigar might be labeled as a Toro while a different, identical size, cigar might be a Corona Gordo.

Tobacconist University's new and improved Certified Consumer Tobacconist program

Tobacconist University has a program of certifications available, primarily for professionals in the industry. They do, however, have a program for what's known as a Certified Consumer Tobacconist (CCT).

This certification "exists to establish fundamental knowledge, credibility and develop personal satisfaction for the most passionate consumers." In other words, if you are a serious cigar/pipe enthusiast, you can become certified and gain the privilages accorded to a select group of consumers. Such privilages may include event invites, special product discounts, free goods, and/or access to private smoking lounges.

I would encourage anyone with a passion for cigars and/or pipes to look into this program.

Dias de Gloria by AJ Fernandez

Let's start with a recently released cigar: Dias de Gloria.
From the description on Cigar.com -

This medium-bodied cigar features a tawny Sun Grown wrapper around it's complex recipe of Nicaraguan long-fillers beneath. Full-flavored but smooth.

A Nicaraguan Puro, it has all the hallmarks of an AJ classic. It comes in four sizes; Gordo (6.0"x58), Robusto (Robusto Extra) (5.5"x52), Short Churchill (Lonsdale) (6.5"x48), & Toro BP (Double Toro) (6.0"x56). For me, this is about mid-style between his Ramon Allones and Enclave Broadleaf. Mild-to-medium spiciness on top of a full, earthy foundation. Makes a great afternoon/evening smoke.

Time to get things moving

It's been a difficult year or so, but things are now coming together. I will be posting information on new products, reviews, and basic Cigar 101 content.

Stay tuned.