Great times in your cigar life?

[kurtdesign1]

Perfect#2 - In fall of 2003 I had my first job outside of architecture. I had had enough of architects. The profession was about putting together all of the documentation (through CAD) to allow someone else to develop the real details of how a house went together. All they needed to follow was, literally, the outline of your floor plans to be compliant. This frustrated me. It deflated me. The career I had been devoted to my entire adolescent and early adult life was evaporating before my eyes. I was probably depressed. I didn't have a thing that was what it seemed in my life. I had given up bass spin cast fishing out of monotony. My relationship with Elly was in an "off again" phase. My best friend in the world, my dad, had lived in Colorado for 2 years and we weren't as close as we were when he still lived in Chicago. My regular cigar store had announced that they were not being extended another lease by their landlord and were closing in May of 04. I had just been asked to leave my mentorship role over the youth of my church.
I was in bad shape.

This lasted until I took a trip to Idaho and the headwaters of the Snake River. It was the first time I was on a real fishing trip. It was the first time I devoted myself to fly fishing. It was the first time I had a Ramon Allones Specially Selected (RASS).

I can remember sitting by the campfire outside our cabin each night with a RASS in my hand and a calm in my mind. It is silly to think that a cigar actually had some sort of centering effect (affect? I still haven't learned that rule) on my mind but it most certainly did. I suddenly saw perspective. I was able to think about my life rather than what was happening IN my life. Perhaps this ability proves I wasn't technically depressed as I was able to reason my way out of it but, nevertheless, I wouldn't have had the clarity to face each of the adult issues I was facing without those cigars. They were breathtaking. They were perfect. They opened my mind to the reality that realizing what you DON'T know is nearly as powerful as knowing what you do. Just because I didn't see a way to understanding didn't mean one wasn't there. I just had been lookign in the wrong direction. And frankly, I owe that turnaround to a handful of illegal cigars, smoked around a fire in 2003.

[IWinchester]

beautifully written

[kurtdesign1]

January 2010
Day of the Haiti Earthquake
Esteli, Nicaragua
2nd floor lounge, Drew Estate Headquarters
Padron 80th

I was in Nicaragua with Colin (Cigar Tourism) and had been lucky enough to have just finished a tour of the Padron Factory, led by Jose Orlando himself. After things ended in the fields of his closest farm he went to his truck and grabbed a box of the 45th Family Blend. These were new at the time and I remember being enamored with them. On our "tour" we had been given two Padron 2000s; maduro & natural, that had not been pressed. They were round. I expected nothing more but was absolutely willing to accept if something was offered. I had been running out of room in my travel humi and decided to give away a few of the cigars I had to the workers in the fields. I approached a couple younger boys and told them "Regalo". Immediately after, Jose called me to his truck and gave me the 45th. I was blown away. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I gave the sticks away because I needed the room SHOULD he decide to give us something else. It was a weird situation but one that left a better taste in my mouth than our first encounter (Re: Aging his cigars and wanting to present him with one I had). Fast forward to the evening after the fields and I decided to enjoy an 80th. It was terrific. Memorable in every way. What was most memorable was the fact that it never really got bad. I truly mean never. I smoked the entire thing with the assistance of a toothpick. The entire cigar was turned to ash. Towards the last 1/2" or so it started accelerating its burn towards the tip of the torpedo. It required no puffing in that timeframe and subsequently went up fully. I had never done that before and, coupled with the way the cigar tasted, it made the whole experience that much more memorable.

[f.sinagra]

January 2010
Day of the Haiti Earthquake
Esteli, Nicaragua
2nd floor lounge, Drew Estate Headquarters
Padron 80th

I was in Nicaragua with Colin (Cigar Tourism) and had been lucky enough to have just finished a tour of the Padron Factory, led by Jose Orlando himself. After things ended in the fields of his closest farm he went to his truck and grabbed a box of the 45th Family Blend. These were new at the time and I remember being enamored with them. On our "tour" we had been given two Padron 2000s; maduro & natural, that had not been pressed. They were round. I expected nothing more but was absolutely willing to accept if something was offered. I had been running out of room in my travel humi and decided to give away a few of the cigars I had to the workers in the fields. I approached a couple younger boys and told them "Regalo". Immediately after, Jose called me to his truck and gave me the 45th. I was blown away. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I gave the sticks away because I needed the room SHOULD he decide to give us something else. It was a weird situation but one that left a better taste in my mouth than our first encounter (Re: Aging his cigars and wanting to present him with one I had). Fast forward to the evening after the fields and I decided to enjoy an 80th. It was terrific. Memorable in every way. What was most memorable was the fact that it never really got bad. I truly mean never. I smoked the entire thing with the assistance of a toothpick. The entire cigar was turned to ash. Towards the last 1/2" or so it started accelerating its burn towards the tip of the torpedo. It required no puffing in that timeframe and subsequently went up fully. I had never done that before and, coupled with the way the cigar tasted, it made the whole experience that much more memorable.

NOW that's amazing!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kurtdesign1]

Perfect Cigar #4
My first premium cigar was a Dominican H.Upmann, smoked in my garage with my Dad. We were cleaning and subsequently watching a storm. One of those things I'll never forget.

[kurtdesign1]

Perfect#5
In 2010 I decided to up my Fly Fishing game. I was in Basalt, Colorado (Aspen) with our regular group of fishermen friends and was about to hit the famed Fryingpan and Roaring Fork Rivers. These two rivers (more the fryingpan) are famous. I'm sure Ian's heard of them and their legend. In colorado they're regularly regarded as the source for monsters. I believe the FP is only something like 8 miles long but has the highest ratio of 10 pounders to fishermen anywhere in the state.
I was ready, I was excited and I had my cigar. I lit my last Vegas Robaina Jubileum (15 year anny) and waded the river. I had a mile alone, perfect conditions and more confidence than I had ever experienced on a river. The cigar was breathtaking and the experience impossible to forget. The only thing missing, only thing, were the fish. I spent the entire trip getting skunked. Absolutely zero landed and maybe only 1 or 2 hits. This is a fast river that is regularly fished by guides taking their paying customers to prime locations. It really is no surprise I missed out. The thing is, I didn't really care. I had wanted to succeed but the fact that the cigar was just so, so good made the simple act of entering the water with it incredibly memorable. I'll never forget it. It is definitely one of the 50.

[IWinchester]

I don't follow the "angler cigar" approach either. I like to smoke something I love, but not an overly expensive stick. What's the point of smoking just to smoke?

[kurtdesign1]

I don't follow the "angler cigar" approach either. I like to smoke something I love, but not an overly expensive stick. What's the point of smoking just to smoke?

COMPLETELY agree!