jhalischuk

Toronto might be bad for cigars but the food here is incredible. Huge range across many different price points. Friends of mine that have visited Melbourne have commented how similar the city felt to Toronto.

To me, RASS tastes like artificially flavored/sweet coffee. Same with RAG. One of the few (only?) marcas I really dislike. They're some of the most vibrant flavours I've tasted in a cigar, kinda wish I liked them more.

This is the main thing for me, once I hit the 3rd cigar of the day I don't really feel like I'm tasting anything. If my palate didn't fade I'd definitely smoke more.

Punch DC and espresso

I didn't realize how much variance there can be with Cuban cigars. Every time I had a bad one I thought there was a problem with the humidity/temp in my humidor. I became kind of obsessive about it, to the point that it detracted from the hobby and it wasn't making the cigars smoke any better. Also aged stock isn't necessarily better, it's just different. Buying a newer box and seeing how it evolves can be part of the fun and gives you an idea how long you prefer to let them age. As others have mentioned, try lots of singles as first. I prefer to go deep on regular production i really like as opposed to limited editions/regionals.

Yeah, it's not illegal to charge more. Just checked again and saw Monte #2 for $70, D4 $60!

In Ontario a Monte #2 ranges from $50-60 plus 13% tax.

This is so good lol

Punch, Bolivar and Juan Lopez. San Cristobal coming in a close 4th.

Usually espresso. Root beer is nice too.

Partagas shorts, amazing quality for the price even now.

It's always be fine for me to walk around with a cigar. I've often found a quiet spot downtown to sit and smoke and nobody has been bothered. I did have a smoke with the owner of 2000 cigars (nice people and shop), outside of their place and someone stopped to lecture us about how it was irresponsible to smoke in a country with health care. So there's that side of it too lol. Toronto has similar rules. You can't smoke within 9 meters of any door opening, but if you're smoking on public space ie sidewalk it's OK. Most times if I'm just considerate of others nobody has an issue.

Golden age of the internet. It was amazing pre social media.

I'm from Toronto. I think there's a lot of Canadians here.

When you do a plunge your body releases many of the same hormones you would release when under stress. The key difference is that it doesn't release cortisol. By staying in an uncomfortable situation you're in essence training your body to manage stress. It's also beneficial for increasing metabolism. The huberman podcast linked above is excellent, would recommend giving it a listen to get more in depth info.