Commentary: Special Cigars for Special Occasions
23 May 2011
You may have noticed that, over the last week, I’ve been somewhat missing in action. I have a good excuse (or, rather, excuses).
For one, aside from playing a little golf and saying goodbye to many great friends and coworkers, my wife and I recently packed up our apartment in Virginia, loaded up our belongings, and drove them to our new home in Chicago. On Friday we closed on our condo (our first home purchase). On Saturday and Sunday we unloaded and began the unpacking process. Today is my first day at my new job.
As exciting and wonderful as all these changes are, I’ve been incredibly busy. I look forward to getting settled in, establishing a new routine, and maybe even taking a few moments to celebrate some big milestones in my life—including my first wedding anniversary, which passed on May 15 with little time for fanfare.
I also look forward to enjoying a few nice cigars. While I’ve never needed an excuse to fire up a premium smoke, I find that special occasions make great opportunities to light up cigars that I may have been aging or saving for months or even years. Here are a few of the cigars that I’m really looking forward to:
• Arturo Fuente King B
• Ashton Classic Corona
• EO 601 Serie “Red†Robusto
• La Aurora Guillermo León Gran Corona
• Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 2
• Paul Garmirian 15th Anniversary Robusto
• Tesa Vintage Especial Rothchild
• Toraño Exodus 50 Years Blend Short Churchill
You’ll note that not all of these cigars are extremely expensive or even all that rare. I just happen to like them a lot, and that makes them special enough in my book. Besides, a cigar is only as special as the company it’s smoked in, and, since I’m a native Chicagoan, I have many friends and family members with whom I’m eager to visit. I can’t wait to share some excellent cigars with them once I get a few more of these boxes unpacked.
In the meantime, please share some of your favorite special occasion cigars in the comments below.
photo credit: Flickr
Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
Great list! I am about to move and one of my worries is moving my collection of fine vintage smokes and humidor? Any advice or suggestions? Planning on using movers for most of my furniture and such but will be driving my car from east to west coast in the summer and, for now, plan on keeping the humidors in the car. Thanks!
I completely agree! What a wonderful way to take a few moments to just "Be Where You Are". I recently tied the knot (4/17) in Vegas and enjoyed both a Cuesta Rey #9, as well as, a Davidoff 2000 (not at the same time). I was with good friends, family and it was a great chance to introduce a few friends to premium cigars. While I do look for reasons to have a celebratory cigar, when there are true legitimate reasons (wedding, new job, birth of a child) it makes those moments even more memorable! Congrats to you, Patrick!
Welcome back to Chicago. We can always use more BOTL.
Joel,
I kept my smokes in the car and packed them in coolers with no ice and humi packs, then placed them in the trunk. Seemed to work well. So I'd recommend emptying your humidor(s) and packing those separately. Unless, of course, you have room to store your humidors inside your vehicle and keep that space climate-controlled.
Congrats on your new purchase and welcome back to the Midwest. I'll burn something nice this evening in Minneapolis and hope the wind is just right. I've recently started to dive into my stash of special occasion smokes. I guess this is as special occasion as any. Besides, I might be hit by a bus. Smoke em' if you got em'.
Padron Anniversary 1964 Maduro
601 Blue
My Father Le Bijoue
La Flor Dominicana Camaroon Cabinet
Guillermo Leon
Between the Lines
Padilla Miami 8/11
Don Pepin JJ Maduro
Some of my go to special occasion cigars, the time of day, mood i'm in, and weather i'm drinking with it or not determine which i grab, but i love them all.
Are you in the city now? Maybe we can plan a herf at one of the local B&M joints in the city. I'm a patron of Blue Havana, they have a good selection and decent enough prices..best of all they have a nice sized lounge and monthly parties on Fridays.
Welcome back
Congrats Pat! I dunno about YOUR May 15th… but I found a dead rotten body in a lake in Laurel.
Congratulations on the wedding anniversary, new job and your first home. Those are three big milestones at once.
I am going on a cruise to the Caribbean and wanted to pick up some Cubans while on St. Martin. Does anyone have any suggestions where to buy them on the island and more importantly what kind to look for (I enjoy a mild to medium cigar)?