I can’t say I remember the exact time that I had my first cigar. I remember trying cigars for the first time and how we got them.  I remember the first Cuban I was able to get my hands on and buying into the “best in the world” bit.  I can remember the first cigar that I actually liked. I can also remember how some of the first cigars that I bought for myself that made me sick to my stomach.  I also remember going to a tobacco store for the first time, how patient they were and the lessons they taught.  The memories that stick to mind aren’t always the best ones, just the most impactful.

The First Cigars:

Honestly, I can’t say what made me want to try a cigar in the first place.  Maybe it was because all the badasses in movies smoked cigars or some villains in comic books.  Maybe it was just because I wanted to be different.  I really never wanted to try one because I just saw others doing it though – not in the movies or anything else, sure they looked cool and it added to their charterers, but I never wanted one because of that.  No one in my family smoked cigars and I was never around anyone who did growing up.  It wasn’t until later in life that one of my friend’s dad smoked cigars.  It had to be around that time I became interested.  I could smell the cigar and the cigars he smoked smelled really good.

Eventually, my buddy and I would notice that he left his unfinished cigars in a big ashtray in the garage.  We thought we were being clever taking his spent cigars.  I remember lighting them up and thinking, “these don’t taste anything like the smell.” They were nasty.   Still, we were relentless.  After time went by my buddy’s dad noticed we were stealing cigars out of his ashtray.  He approached us and told us he knew what we were doing.  Instead of him getting mad, he reached out with two brand new cigars.  He said, “If you’re going to do it, do it right.  Try these.”  He handed us two Bauza Jaguars, a lonsdale size.  We had no idea what they were at the time – or that it was my first introduction to a Fuente made cigar and a relationship with that brand that’s lasting thirty years later.  I took that cigar out of the cellophane and can remember the sweet, rich tobacco smell and couldn’t wait to light it up.

He told us how to clip the end and most importantly, to not inhale – just puff.

That was the first cigar I remember tasting good and actually enjoying.  From then on my curiosity was sparked. I wanted to know more, taste more and learn what else was out there. This was the mid nineties and little did we know how many garbage cigars were being produced at the time – the craze of the boom.  We weren’t deterred and did whatever we could to get our hands on as many different cigars that we could try.

Trial and Error:

We were yet to be introduced to a cigar store. A walk-in humidor wasn’t even a thought in our heads.  So we went where we could to get cigars, mostly drug stores like Walgreens.  The brands they had there were exactly what you think they would be, cheap “drug store cigars.”  We’d grab phillies, swishers and even found one that smelled great called John T’s, which was made with pipe tobacco.  We tried them all, most of them the same thing with different branding, but none compared to that Bauza.

At that age when you wanted to party with your friends, you had to get creative.  There used to be a place in the woods we’d go to have fires and do all the things you didn’t want to do, or I should say couldn’t do in front of your parents.  One night we went out to the woods, some random cigars from Walgreens in hand and a bottle of peppermint Schnapp’s someone acquired, somehow.  My buddy’s and I thought we were being pretty cool, lit up those cigars and took turns taking swigs out of that Schnapps’ bottle.  Somewhere along the way we forgot that one important fact – don’t inhale.  Eventually we all took turns lurched over a tree spilling our guts. To this day any form of peppermint Schnapp’s is hard to stomach.  Cigars on the other hand, we were just determined to get better ones – and to not be idiots.

Local Tobacconist

Being so intrigued, I went to a book store, Crown Books and tried to find anything I could on cigars.  There wasn’t much to choose from, just a couple books and magazines like Cigar Aficionado and Smoke Magazine.  I’d thumb through all the pages looking at all the different sizes, brands and packaging.  It’s where I learned about humidors, how to take care of cigars, how you are supposed to store them. The beginning of the basics.  I wanted to see these cigars in person and see if they tasted and smelled as good as they looked.  I eventually found my way to the local tobacconist near me at the time, Tobacco Plus in Matteson IL.  There I met Zaid and Firas Eid.  Right away they could tell I was a newbie just by the way I’d walk into the humidor and stare endlessly into an overwhelming selection of cigars or by the way I stuck cigars up to my nose to smell them.  Zaid would come into the humidor, and tell me not to do that, please. It makes total sense now how gross that is. But I didn’t have money to buy a bunch of different cigars and if I didn’t like the way they smelled, I would tell him, how would I know what I like.  He’d usher me in certain direction – starting with mild strength cigars, then usher me in new directions when I came back depending on what I’d tell him how the last cigar was.  They would sit with me at the shop teaching more about cigars, the process from tobaccos used to the rolling.  It really allowed me to explore the hobby.

There weren’t countless websites and blogs to run through – there was hardly the internet.

The cigar shop was the one place I could go to learn and get my first taste of the comradery that also goes with cigars and the cigar shop atmosphere.  Taking advice and knowledge from those with a lot more experience than I had.  I’m still thankful to Zaid and Firas for their patience and guidance.  If they weren’t so helpful with me I would have probably moved on to another hobby.  To this day I like to try everything that comes out.  I won’t say I’m not brand loyal because I always have certain cigars on hand.  But that curiosity has never gone away.  When people ask me for advice that is always one thing I say, try everything. Honestly, it’s the only way to understand different types of tobaccos, different countries and the regions where they are grown and how they can work together. You also learn what you don’t like and what to avoid in the future.  First hand experience goes a lot farther than just reading what others know.

The First Cuban Cigar

It was a family vacation in London.  Every time we went on a vacation, my mom would ask us what we wanted to do there and when we went to London, I only had to requests: First, I wanted to go to Harrod’s to check out the cigars there and second, to go to the Davidoff Shop.  When you’re told that something is the best of the best over and over again, you start to believe it.

You look for reasons why it’s the best instead of using your own judgement to determine if it really is.

I can remember that with Cuban cigars – but my first Cuban experience didn’t turn out like we had just drank from the Arc of Covenant and discovered eternal life. My dad and I bought a few cigars at the Davidoff Shop, Cuaba’s.  It wasn’t until we were back at the hotel that night the two of us were able to light them up.  I distinctly remember the way Cuban tobacco smelled – and still it’s hard to find anything that smells like that.  It really is so distinct and unique.  However, all the blending and cigar producing practices of Cuba aside – we were excited to try these cigars.  The night didn’t really go as expected and it didn’t take long for those Cuaba’s to make us both sick.  Right idea, wrong choice.  It was still exciting to be able say we had Cuban cigars – and we found a couple more that were more suitable for our strength tolerance.  But it was that first one, that Cuaba that sticks out.  Probably because of how sick it made us but we had a lot of fun together nonetheless.  It was also the first cigar that I lit up with my dad.  In the end, Cuban cigars weren’t all they were cracked up to be – more misses than hits.  But when they hit – they were great.  But wanting to explore the world of cigars, I never stopped trying to get my hands on different brands and sizes just for the experience.

Never an End:

Decades later I am still trying new cigars. New sizes, new blends, new companies.  There will always be new things to try, but there are only a couple of opportunities for the very first experience.  Whether the very first cigar, lighting up with your dad or a buddy for the first time, trying that coveted Cuban cigar for the first time – those things will only happen once.  They may not go as planned, but chances are you won’t forget them.

Do you remember your first cigar experiences? Let us know in the comments how it went for you!