The Smoking Chair

Thus begins the next in a series of Cigar 101 Articles I am writing. This one talks about picking out a tasty cigar for someone who does not know what a tasty cigar tastes like.

How do you pick your first cigar? There are a few standard cigars that I recommend, and that are generally recommended by the people who assist me with this site. I will list those below, with convenient links to the best place on the internet to buy cigars, Cigars International, and in a few cases where CI does not sell the recommended cigar there will be links to other trusted (i.e. I have purchased through them before) sites.

Besides clicking on the links that will come after this section, how can you tell what you will like? with so many different types of cigars, the choice that must be made can be quite daunting. You have different wrappers, fillers, brands, labels, infused, flavored, unflavored…The list goes on and on. The most simple question that can be asked is, what kind of beer do you like?

Generally the darker the beer you like, the more robust you will like your cigar. There are exceptions to every rule, but this is a good starting point. If you like your beer light, go with a natural, Connecticut, or Candela wrapper. If you like really dark beer, go with a Maduro or double or triple Maduro wrapper. You will definitely have to experiment with what you will like. Read below for brief descriptions on a few that will help get you started. I have smoked all the cigars listed below. You will find, as I did, your preference in cigars will change over the course of your smoking. I started with the Drew Estate Root, then jumped to the Ghurka Titan. That was a big jump and two opposing tastes to deal with. Titan is not listed in the below list, as that is not a cigar I would recommend starting with. It is extremely big, strong, full, and expensive. A great smoke to be sure, but not for beginners.

The list is organized in the order I would start smoking to get a good taste of several varieties without jumping too strong too quick.

1. ACID Blondie – Small, quick and delicious, this light cigar is sure to jump start your affection for the Acid Remi Line.
2. Ambrosia Mother Earth – Another Cigar Line from Drew Estate, this is a complex, mild, interesting breakfast cigar. This taste is not for everyone, but if you like it, you will love it.
3. La Vieja Habana Connecticut, Camaroon or Corojo - All three of these linked are delicious and mild. Try them all to figure out what wrapper/blend you like. These are good cigars to purchase if you really want to taste the difference in wrappers without going too much into debt.
4. 5 Vegas Gold – One of my favorite cigars of all time. This is a creamy, light bodied, simple smoke. Sure to keep you entertained as you taste the change in flavors as you smoke it.
5. ACID Kuba Kuba – A sweet aromatic, infused cigar that is a light smoke.
6. Drew Estate Dirt Torpedo` – Also part of the Drew Estate natural Line, this is a light-medium bodied, sweeter cigar. There are two options available, the torpedo is listed as it is the cigar I prefer, there is also a smaller version. I just don’t care for that one as much.
7. Drew Estate Root – Part of Drew Estate’s Natural Line, this light bodied cigar is quite tasty, and lacks the sweetened tip that is evident on many Natural Cigars.
8. ACID Extraordinary Larry – The most robust (though still not quite full) cigar from the ACID line, this cigar is delicious, aromatic and unique in its flavor.
9. Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 or 1992 - Two amazing, medium body cigars. The 1992 is a little heavier, but not much more so. Very worth your while, and great intro cigars to the world of Rocky Patel.
10. Gurkha Ancient Warrior – Surprisingly I was unable to find this cigar in any of the shops I have purchased from in the past. This does not mean they cannot be purchased on the internet, as I did find a few sites that sell them, I just don’t know any of the sites, so I will not recommend them. Google will find them for you. Ahem, I digress. Smoke this it is a great cigar. The fullest of the cigars I am recommending to beginners, but not so full it will knock you on your butt. Enjoy.

These are ten good starter cigars. Experiment and play around to see what you like. Remember there is no shame in liking a lighter cigar versus a more full one (I absolutely adore all these cigars). You will like what you will like.

I noticed, as I was setting links to this post, I have a lot of Drew Estate listed here. I am not biased towards Drew Estate, though I do think they are great cigars. I just know these are some of the cigars I started out on and the progression naturally led me to many other wonderful cigars.

Hope you enjoyed this article, and I hope you learned something. Let me know in comments if you have other ideas or if you disagree with any of the recommendations.

Tags: 101 Series

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 at 9:15 pm and is filed under Education. 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.