Cigar Watch

Chief@CigarWatch.info
www.CigarWatch.info

Today I was up to the dog park – a favorite place to enjoy a good smoke and do some writing. Regular readers will remember that I have found that there is a very good idea within the first inch or so of a good cigar. I got into a conversation about cigars with a dog owner who was taking his out for a mid-day walk. During the course of that conversation he asked me about smoking and what it was that I enjoyed about cigars.

After the short answer – I really like the flavor and experience of smoking a good stogie – he asked whether I had a group that I regularly smoked with. I told him about the Meet Up group that I belong to and the benefits that I got from the regular meetings. As the list of benefits got longer I decided to write them down:

• Camaraderie: I like getting together with others who also enjoy a good cigar. These is something very satisfying about smoking with people that you know, know you and what you like – it is relaxing.
• Knowledge: The group is full of members who like to share their knowledge of cigars and their favorite smokes. I have learned a lot about stogies, how they are made, how they should be smoked and how to enjoy them.
• New Sticks: I’ll fill up my traveling humidor before each meeting but will seldom be limited to smoking the cigars that I brought. Cigar smokers are a very generous lot and swapping is a regular activity in the club. As regular members have gotten more familiar with my tastes, the gifts that come my way are more suited to that taste. There are lots of ‘favorites’ that I am sure I would not have discovered if I was limited to choice by chance.
• Learning How: It always amazes me how a casual comment will give me a good idea that improves my enjoyment of smoking. Over the years that I have been a member the way I approach and smoke a stogie has changed – for the better – in many ways.
• No hassles: We meet in a bar that is very cigar friendly. In fact, about half of the people in it will have a cigar lit. I don’t have to worry about others in the bar.
• Blind Tastings: About six months ago we instituted blind tastings. One member will bring cigars with the bands removed and pass them out. The deal is simple – you can either pay the price of the cigar or give on of equal or greater price in trade. Almost everybody does the latter. When it was my turn, I received eighteen sticks that I have never tried!
• Cigar Ratings: As a result of the blind tastings, I put together a Cigar Rating Sheet which the club uses. The process of rating my smokes has helped me focus in on those cigars which I really like and to better understand why I like them so much.
• Cigar Watch: As a result of the tastings and my membership in the club, I organized Cigar Watch – a website which provides ratings, articles and photos about cigars.

I’ve enjoyed cigars for many years – but that enjoyment, increased knowledge and the founding of Cigar Watch are all a result of joining a cigar club. I recommend that you look around your neck of the woods and find a cigar club to join. You may not end up starting a website – but I guarantee that your enjoyment will increase – along with your knowledge and appreciation of good smokes.

Cigar Watch provides cigar ratings, information on how to smoke a cigar and enjoy the experience and tips on how to identify fake cigars. We are a cigar club whose members contribute reviews of their favorite stogies and rant or rave about their experiences with smokes.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.