Is the economic situation in America affecting your cigar smoking?

Is the economic situation in America affecting your cigar smoking?

With the high cost of fuel and just about everything else I haven’t been able to visit my favorite Cigar sanctuary nearly as much as I like. I used to go at least once a week, now I’m lucky to get there once a month, and I’m suffering from some major withdrawal. It’s not the nicotine or even the cigars themselves. I’m like most hardcore cigar aficionados in the fact that I have more cigars in humidors at home than I can smoke in a year.

It is the cigar shop experience that I’m missing. I miss opening the door to the shop and smelling the heavenly aroma from several finely aged premium hand made cigars being smoked in the lounge near the back of the shop. I miss the first sight of the array of polished humidors for sell, and the walls lined with box after box of cigars in the built in sliding glass door humidors that lead to the service counter. As I make my way through the maze of Humidors toward the counter I arrive at a cigar lovers oasis, the walk-in humidor. I love opening that door and being enveloped with the smell of Spanish cedar and aged tobacco. Is anything better than that? I miss taking over half an hour picking out the perfect cigar or cigars for the day. There are so many things to consider in making this all important selection. First of all it is college football season so a Churchill is required unless I think I may want a change at halftime then maybe a couple of Robustos will be better. Next, even though I suffer more and more from CRS (Can’t remember Sh!t) these days I do recall that I had a good breakfast so I can go for a full bodied smoke if I want. Ok anything is fair game then. Hmm what about wrapper choice, maduro, corojo, Cameroon, sun grown, shade grown, Is it any wonder it takes so long to pick out the cigar of choice?
My selection made I grab a bottle of water and settle into one of the leather arm chairs in the lounge being sure to choose a spot with a premium view of the big screen TV. I love the ritual that comes next, a quick clip of the cap, a slow toasting of the foot and a few gentle puffs and I am in heaven. One of the other patrons has generously opened a bottle of wine to share, aahh how sweet it is, College football on three screens, and Giada from the food network on the fourth, a few friends sitting around each enjoying their version of the perfect cigar. It just doesn’t get much better than this. Outsiders may not understand how this group can be so comfortable with each other. To the untrained eye they have little if anything in common. Why would a Dentist, a contractor, a factory worker, a computer specialist, a college student, and a retiree all enjoy spending so much time together? It’s called the Brotherhood of the Leaf. The cigar or pipe can bring people together from all walks of life and they can genuinely enjoy each others company. No wonder the Native Americans smoked the peace pipe. Maybe we should make it mandatory in Congress. Maybe then they could get something done. Ok I won’t even start down that road. That is a subject to address on the next trip to the Cigar store.

Please don’t forget to stop in to your local cigar shops and support their endeavors. It is the perfect place to try new cigars or reunite with an old favorite. You will most certainly find someone interesting to chat with. I asked my Mother who is a non smoker why she always chose to set in the smoking section of air planes back when there was such a thing and she informed me that the men were more interesting in the smoking section. It is up to us all to try and keep these Brick-and-Mortar shops around. How sad it would be to let another piece of history just fade away.