Commentary: Old, New…What’s the Difference?
3 May 2012
Like many pursuits these days, the cigar world is often driven by the phrase, “What’s new?”
I am as guilty as most, if not more so, of seeking the new, the different, and the as-yet-to-be-smoked. Writing for StogieGuys.com, I consider it my duty to report on cigars that our readers might not have tried. Since I rarely light up more than six or seven sticks per week, that increases the pressure to search the humidor for untried cigars whenever I visit a B&M.
All this came to mind the other day when I pulled an Oliva Serie V Churchill Extra from my humidor. The cigar was a gift, and I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I smoked one. But I did remember how much I had enjoyed them when Oliva introduced the Serie V as a full strength addition to its lineup nearly five years ago. I smoked them often.
The smooth, spicy, complex cigar was every bit as satisfying as it was back then. Why, I wondered, had I stopped smoking them? Of course, I knew the answer. They’d just been pushed aside by newer cigars. Not better cigars, necessarily. Just newer.
So I vowed I would change my ways. On my next smoke shop visit, I looked specifically for cigars I had not smoked for awhile. I settled on the San Cristobal Elegancia Imperial, a Pepin-blended creation from Ashton that captivated my taste buds when the line extension came out about a year ago. Back then, I ran through a box of the relatively mild, beautiful robustos. But I had not had one since.
The Imperial was great. A joy to smoke. It made me think how strange is our obsession with new cigars when those that are very old are the most highly prized. But that’s another story.
For now, I’m content to learn my lesson. New cigars can be great. But so are many of those that have been around awhile.
photo credit: Flickr
Patrick Ashby
Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
Patrick Semmens
Co-Founder & Publisher
George Edmonson
Tampa Bureau Chief
Sing it brother, I am the victim of the same crime and to make it worse I don't have the blogging excuse. Where are those Short Stories, the Padrons or the Ashtons, I really likes those cigars
I thought about this same thing about a week ago. I decided that when i go on vacation (in about a month. I'm bringing only tried and true favorites. My tat brown labels, Oliva V's, Le Bijous, Padron 1964s, veruco no. 5s, my last 2 Domus Magnus, and ashton cabinets for the morning, etc. I'm really looking forward to it.
I don't know about the vacation, but the cigars sound great!