Week in Smoke – TGT Edition posted on February 9th, 2012
Ask The Readers: Why Do You Smoke Cigars?
Photo Credit: Bryan Glynn of BG Pictures and Cigar Obsession
Dear Stogie Review,
I write this to inform you that you seem to be making a grave mistake when it comes to cigars. It is not often I spent time here, but every time I do, I find myself disgusted. The idea that you smoke your cigars for mere enjoyment is absurd!By your camaraderie and good natured fun, you are killing the seed which I have taken great care to sow. That seed was intended to grow into a mighty tree which stood, proud, as a symbol of sophistication. From atop that tree I, and those like me, would look down upon you, and those like you, while you make a pitiful attempt to portray the past time of cigars as one within reach of the average Joe.
Every day after spending a grueling six hours behind my mighty Bubinga desk, I travel to my local tobacconist. It is here that the real work starts. In my three piece silk suite, I enter the humidor to find one of the few cigars worth smoking, one which you most likely could not afford. At this point I seat myself near the display window so that all those passing by will drink in my magnificence.
As I read my high society magazine, I take great care to ensure my cigar is always at the proper angle for all to see clearly. Between puffs, I place my cigar in the ashtray, again taking great care to display my band proudly, I sip upon a cup of tea. As I sip, I extend my pinky-finger diligently to once again display my sophistication.
After forty-minutes of sheer bliss, I rise from my comfortable chair to retrieve my cane and polish my monocle. I stride out the door only to return tomorrow, where I will once again display the grace and sophistication that is cigar smoking.
The puprose of this letter is to give you a peak at what cigar smoking is all about. We smoke cigars so that we can influence those beneath us. By making this elegant past time accessible to the average Joe, you do nothing but destroy the hard work and dedication of great men. If you continue on with your quest of making this pure past time of cigars for the every-man, please know that you will never find yourself in a position of pure bliss. You will never achieve what we true cigar smokers have.
Good day Sirs,
Louis Winthorpe III
The only kind of cigar smoker which matters
The letter you have just read is a piece of fiction. It was written in an attempt to get your blood to rise to a simmer while making you think about all of the reasons you smoke cigars. I would like you to draft a reply to this fictional character explaining why you smoke cigars.
We would like to use the responses we receive in a future article, so please try to keep yourself under control and not respond with a series of expletives. We will select a few of the well spoken responses and include them in the above mentioned future post.
If I managed to get your blood pressure up, I apologize. Take that frustration and battle back at this fictional individual in a respectable and well spoken manner.
I smoke cigars because I’m really an evil corporate villain, out to rape the planet of its natural resources and cheat the sheeple out of as much money as possible, all while violating as many government regulations as possible.
At least that’s what you would probably believe if you watched enough movies and television shows. Why do the villains invariably smoke cigars?
The real reason I smoke is that I enjoy it. At the end of a work day, it is relaxing to sit out on the porch and enjoy a cigar while listening to music, watching the world go by, and maybe reading a book or magazine. When I get the chance, hanging out with other cigar smokers is always fun, too, and I like how cigar smoking can be an equalizer. At my regular B&M, I know doctors, business owners and gardeners, blacks and whites, and when we all get together there is no class warfare or racial strife…we would rather argue about what cigar is the best. I’ve had the same experience wherever I’ve been, too.
Even if we disagree about Gurkha’s marketing, or Davidoff’s prices, or which CAO blend is the best, or who will win the Superbowl, or about the current administration’s policies, or about the value of a certain “lifestyle” magazine…cigar smokers stick together.
For a second, I thought the above letter was real! And the farther in I read, the more I realized it almost had to be fake.
The reason I smoke cigars: The pleasure of being with friends. I never smoke a cigar alone, I don’t find it quite as enjoyable as sitting around with a friend or five and talking about things going on in life, plans for the night, or past events that we can all have a good laugh over. In my opinion, nothing brings a group together like a nice, relaxed cigar smoke. Me and my friends have made trips to the local tobacconist a regular adventure, and a group effort at that, all to enjoy them together.
Plus, I enjoy tasting all the varieties! With so many available, I’d have to try some! I’ve relaxed into a few favorites, but I always make sure to buy at least one cigar I’ve never tried before, just to see if I can refine my taste buds just a little bit more.
Why do I smoke cigars? Well the simple answer would be because I enjoy them. But more than that, I enjoy the pleasure that cigar smoking literally forces me to take. When I smoke I tend to relax and allow whatever troubles of the day to float away in the clouds of smoke. I have found that if I am having a bad day, smoking a beloved stogie helps me to shed the ill feelings and enjoy the time that I have set aside for smoking, and focus on more positive feelings. If I am having a good day, I have found that cigar smoking only improves the moment. Often times, I will have a favorite libation with my cigar, which only helps improve my mood!
I enjoy thinking about where the cigar I am smoking came from; it’s history, the land of it’s birth, the people who crafted the cigar. I enjoy the traditions and legacies of cigar smoking, sharing in a ritual that is literally hundreds and hundreds of years old.
And as I have said on more than one occasion, I enjoy the cigar community, the BOTL & SOTL. I enjoy learning about their likes & dislikes when it comes to cigars, what they have learned and what I can learn from them. Hopefully, I can offer a tidbit of knowledge as well. Although we live in different places of the world, and many of us have never met, we share each a common bond that goes beyond just cigars. We are friends. Very different in many ways, but still we have a bond of friendship via Twitter, blogs, review sites, websites and the occasional get-together that rivals many so-called friendships & kinships of flesh and blood. I think the world would be a better place if more folks interacted as well as we in the cigar community do.
Yes, there are cigar snobs out there, like in many other favored pastimes. I simply pay them no mind. I don’t care how important they think they are. Their pompous mutterings are like flatulent noise in the wind, fleeting before it dies out, not to be remembered.
But beyond all of that, I enjoy smoking cigars. And I’m ok with that!
Joseph aka mango2kw
I have to say that i think Louis Winthorpe III makes some valid points…Get this guy a job on here.
I’m sure that my reason for smoking cigars and the author of the letter’s reasons may be different, but the fact that we both get enjoyment from the process. While I revel in finding a cigar that satisfies my tastes for a price that satisfies my wallet, he gets pleasure from showing the world that he can afford the most expensive cigar. While I may enjoy meeting and fraternizing with fellow cigar enthusiasts, he enjoys the solitude which comes with his elevated status. I would never presume to tell someone how they should enjoy a cigar, and that where the author of the letter and I differ, but I’m sure that would be expected from an average joe such as myself.
CigarCraig
I can sum up why I smoke in two words!
Gooz Fraba!
I smoke because I like the smell and flavors. As an added bonus it allows me to save money by not spending it on blood pressure medication and consulting with a therapist.
because i am addicted to it
Pure enjoyment! (Oh and of course to look down my nose at those great men who aren’t really sophisticated enough to enjoy a cigar like the average Joe. lol)
So i can be just like my new role model, Louis Winthrope III. Does he have a review site I can visit?
In all seriousness, though, I like a cigar every know and then because it’s relaxing and a good way to keep me from getting stressed out over schoolwork.
I smoke cigars because they’re a fairly cheap way to have “escape” time. With a cigar, I don’t need to worry about the stresses of life both past and future. It’s just me, my mind, and a cigar. There’s enough for me to fret over in daily life, so having some time for just “me” (or friends if I choose to smoke with others) is greatly appreciated.
I smoke um because they taste great! That’s it. Nothing more to see, here, move along. No really. That’s it. Go home! Go on then, git!
I smoke cigars purely for enjoyment. The times I take for myself to escape into a different place is attributed to great cigars. Although I’d be lying if I said I weren’t addicted to nicotine.
In todays’ society of obligations, keeping up with the Joneses (or in this case, the Winthorpes); work, school, family… there is often very little time to devote to ones’ self. One key to happiness and sanity, especially for us ‘average Joes’, is to have the ability to step back, to call a time-out, to just stop and think. This is what a good cigar brings to the equation. The hour or so it takes to enjoy the flavors and nuances of a cigar, with or without libations, gives us that invaluable ‘me-time’ that is guilt-free and above all necessary. And let us not forget the many women who also enjoy a good smoke. It is both pretentious and arrogant to assume that #1 cigars are only for men, and #2 that only men of higher stature are deserving of such a ritual. These are not the days of the Titanic, where men retire to the smoking room for gicars and Brandy after dinner leaving their women alone, those days are SUNK!
Today’s cigar smokers enjoy a level playing field free of redjudice or judgement, with a commonality among us that sparks stimulating conversation, forges life-long friendships, soothes our weary souls, lifts our spirits, and otherwise allows us to not just take stock in our lives, but to cash in a few shares. If you would rather sit in the window and sip your tea, then I have a good suggestion for where to put your extended pinky finger.
I knew this must be joke about half way through because this guy would have probably been placed in a body bag by now by one of us ‘average joe’s’. I started smoking because mostly it was a good way to spend some qualty time with my dad, while this is still the case, I smoke more now because I enjoy it, and it has become a sort of small obsession.
-walt I am going to bill you if I ever need blood pressure medicine. LOL
Is this the same Louis Winthorpe from “Trading Places?”
I was wondering if anyone would recognize the name. It is the “Louis Winthorp” from “Trading Places” with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. I was trying to think of a snobby individual with a fancy name and that character was the first that came to mind.
I’ve always smoked cigars here and there but I never payed attention to brands and the culture of it all. It was usually at a golf course, a wedding, or with other friends. But then my father got into it with a friend of his. Now it’s another way that he and I bond. Since then I have really started to appreciate the art and culture that goes into smoking and collecting stogies. Thanks pops!
CIgar smoking is enjoyment. Pure enjoyment.
There is no dirty ‘need’ here, no chemically-fueled desire to ease jumpy nerves by cramming a large burning stick of tobacco in my face. I smoke cigars for the pleasure I find in holding a beautifully hand-crafted artifact in my hand, knowing that someone put their time, expertise, and love into something they KNEW would be burned behind closed doors, thousands of miles away. I smoke because I love the feel of the thick, silky vapors swirling in my mouth and nose; the flavors changing and evolving with each inch smoked. I smoke because I enjoy spending time with others who feel the same way, and it is easy to see my own sentiment on their faces as they enjoy their ritual.
In a word, smoking a cigar is: AHHHHH.
Louis, good sir;
I appreciate your constipated worldview and was only relieved when I saw your purpose was to give us a “peak” as opposed to a “peek”. Perhaps in your fit of “pique”, your bespoke boxers had knotted up and cut off the bloodflow to your thesaurus.
And don’t think I’m not spellchecking this before I hit “send”
Remember, there is never a man as tall as one who stands upon the body of his vanquished foe.
With so many channels out there crying from the hilltops about the evils of smoking I think that most people have never given smoking a fine cigar a fair shot. I always get a special enjoyment when I see a picture from 50-60 years ago where all the men are at a baseball game, meeting, or subway platform all with their grey suits, hats, and a cigar clenched between their teeth. I think that it is a simple pleasure that people chose to enjoy before the evils of smoking were jammed down their throats at every turn. It is that simple pleasure that I think I enjoy most.
Okay, I thought you were making fun of me as a high brow cigar smoker of White Owls. I enjoy smoking cigars because after a stressful day, it’s a great feeling to sit on my deck, weather permitting, have a good or great cigar with a drink of choice and not having a care in the world. Also I enjoy a stick with my brother in law who is also a lover of the leaf. It’s a great social experience to have a cigar with another BOTL who understands why we smoke a good cigar.
cheaper than therapy