Your first cigar

[Ruffinogold]

For me , cigars were something that didnt hit home right away like the pipe did . I started a lot of things when I was 14 and the pipe , cigar and chew were during that year , so 79

The very first cigar I had was a William Penn . I really didn't care for it much , though I smoked it . It kind of turned me off to cigars for a decade but not totally . Id try other cigars , and some were a bit better than the William Penn , but none really freaked me out . The La Corona Whiff I did enjoy and they were sneaky in the tin they came in . But yeah , id spend my money on pipe tobacco and if I were flush , maybe I'd try a cigar ...


So , fast forward a decade about, and I'm visiting my Dad in Miami ( Coral Gables ) . He says .. let's go smoke but smoke a damn cigar with me , you always smoke a pipe . So , I agreed to make his ass happy . He hands me a Primo del Rey Noble and I light it up .... 20 seconds later I'm thinking .,, damn !!! I super enjoyed it , which really pleased the old man .
I got into cigars at that point and smoked everything there was available . Learned about them and being in Tampa and Miami, met " cigar people " . The La Gloria Cubano that Ernesto was making in Miami was really something . The wavell became the most popular , if I remember right , but I loved the Lonsdale best . He had a brand called la Hoya Selecta , which was off the chart , especially the Maduro , which is what I smoked ( Lonsdale of course ) . The El Credito was good but was less refined . The other brand I remember , and I freaking love them , is tbe El Rico Habana .

Anyway , I could write all day about cigars in Tampa and Miami but my first was a Penn and the first one I loved was a Primo .,. What was yours?

[Kevin Keith]

I love cigars. All of 'em except for cigarillos. Too skinny. My first cigar was a Swisher Sweet Perfecto. As a matter of fact, my last cigar was a Swisher Sweet Perfecto...just a couple of hours ago. My first is well chronicled here and elsewhere. I will reproduce it here for the general welfare. lol

The first cigar I ever smoked was back in 1974, a Swisher Sweet Perfecto. Now, lest you think I was a sophisticated cigar smoker back then, I wasn't.

I was fourteen and was totally impressed by a picture in a book called Witness by Whittaker Chambers. Chambers was a Maryland farmer who led a double life as a spy for the Soviet Union. Really. This was not fiction. At one point the guy hid microfilmed documents that he he was holding for the Soviets in a hollowed out pumpkin in one of his pumpkin patches. He turned state's evidence and informed on a fellow Communist, Alger Hiss, a high ranking US State Department official. Hiss was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and was eventually sentenced to prison.

All that to say this...there was a picture of one of the witnesses testifying before he HUAC and he was casually smoking a cigar during his testimony. He made that look so good...I had to get me some of that. I rode my bike to the 7-11, plunked down about fifty cents and left with a five pack of Swisher Sweet Perfectos. I got home and smoked one in the backyard. And...I lucked out because I didn't get sick and my dad didn't smell the smoke on me when he got home.

There are better cigars, but there is no cigar that brings back the memories that Swisher Sweets recall.

[Mr Beardsley]

My first cigar was a swisher wood tip. My favorite cigar was (probably still is if they are available) the Zorro cheroots I used to buy from Racine & Laramie. Black licorice slap upside the head. I was always one to inhale a good portion of a cigar so I leave them alone nowadays

[arturo7]

First cigar? Probably a Swisher Sweet of some other nonsense like that.

First real cigar? This wasn't until I got out of college and got a real job.

I remember it well. It was the late 80's and I was making a sales call at about 9AM. Dick was an old school guy, probably pushing 70 at the time. He owned a successful manufacturing facility that made housewares. A straight shooter with genial personality but an absolute bear to do business with.

He asked I wanted an espresso. I said sure. Dick got up from his desk walked over to the sideboard that functioned as his coffee station. He eyeballed me as he was prepping a shot. "So Arthur," he paused, "do you like cigars?"

"Yes, I do." I said, thinking he was just making conversation. Nobody smokes cigars at nine o'clock in frikin' morning, right? Wrong.

"Why don't you grab a couple out of that box." Dick pointed to the far end of his desk. "I just got these in."

The words that came out of my mouth were, "Great, thank you!" The words inside my head were something about his mental state for wanting to have a cigar at that the early hour. At any rate, I was committed.

The cigars were maduro robustos from J&R. Dick clipped them and we lit 'em up. I was amazed: it was awesome. I don't want to say it was a whole new world, but definitely a new continent. I learned right there that the combination of a good smoke and a good coffee was unbeatable.

I'm pretty sure Dick got a good chuckle watching me that morning. He was a great guy.

[Wooda]

Black and mild wood tip at 13 while my friends were toking blunts. I didn't smoke herb. Too straightedge for that.
First actual cigar was a white owl, same deal.

First good cigar was a Liga privada #9 with my bro on the deck of my first apartment

[Houtenziel]

Macanudo Cafe. When I was old enough to buy I went to the smoke shop in town, and on a whim I asked the guy what a good first cigar would be. He sold me a Mac Cafe, and I remember enjoying it quite a bit.

[Scap]

Back in 2000, I got an Avo Domaine figurado. Figured I couldn't screw up lighting it. Been whole hog since then.

[Ruffinogold]

First cigar? Probably a Swisher Sweet of some other nonsense like that.

First real cigar? This wasn't until I got out of college and got a real job.

I remember it well. It was the late 80's and I was making a sales call at about 9AM. Dick was an old school guy, probably pushing 70 at the time. He owned a successful manufacturing facility that made housewares. A straight shooter with genial personality but an absolute bear to do business with.

He asked I wanted an espresso. I said sure. Dick got up from his desk walked over to the sideboard that functioned as his coffee station. He eyeballed me as he was prepping a shot. "So Arthur," he paused, "do you like cigars?"

"Yes, I do." I said, thinking he was just making conversation. Nobody smokes cigars at nine o'clock in frikin' morning, right? Wrong.

"Why don't you grab a couple out of that box." Dick pointed to the far end of his desk. "I just got these in."

The words that came out of my mouth were, "Great, thank you!" The words inside my head were something about his mental state for wanting to have a cigar at that the early hour. At any rate, I was committed.

The cigars were maduro robustos from J&R. Dick clipped them and we lit 'em up. I was amazed: it was awesome. I don't want to say it was a whole new world, but definitely a new continent. I learned right there that the combination of a good smoke and a good coffee was unbeatable.

I'm pretty sure Dick got a good chuckle watching me that morning. He was a great guy.

I so love that story !!!

Man , back in the shop days , I smoked a Hoyo Cuban Largo while out and about gathering things for the store thst I might need . Most days I was out and about doing just that, as i didn't open til 10 am , I had the time.
The days I didn't need to get stuff , id go to the shop and work on paper work .... smoking the Cuban Largo . I probably miss that cigar more than any other ... it was probably a touch wider than an average Lonsdale and maybe a touch longer too , but it was basically a Lonsdale size . My God , it was a perfect morning smoke . I still have an empty box and it's in my tobacco " cellar " . I keep lighters , cutters , flings etc .. in it . I see it every day ,. I also have the box of primo del Rey nobles from the day my Dad turned me in to them .. it's in the barn

I've never taken a picture but I have a few memorable boxes saved and a ton of pipe tobacco tins . Whenever i can get to the man cave , it will all be displayed in there . I'm really hoping to get to it in a month .

[Ruffinogold]

Good God , I can't do basic math . I was born in 66 , so at 79 I was 13 ... lol . It's no wonder I'm not an engineer or rocket scientist

I didn't have them till the 90's but those damn Wolf Brothers Rum Crooks were killer . Anyone smoke them too !? They were one of the few machine made I carried at the shop . Those and National Brand stuff ( Black Pete's, Farnam Drive etc .. ) along with munnimaker and a brand Villizon had but I can't remember ... one of them were maple flavored

[Ruffinogold]

Macanudo Cafe. When I was old enough to buy I went to the smoke shop in town, and on a whim I asked the guy what a good first cigar would be. He sold me a Mac Cafe, and I remember enjoying it quite a bit.

A good first cigar !!

Back in 2000, I got an Avo Domaine figurado. Figured I couldn't screw up lighting it. Been whole hog since then.

Wow , that was a killer first cigar !!