When you give yourself permission to splurge on a special occassion….where would your hand wander?

[El Presidente]

Coming to the end of extensive home reservations. Those who have done the exercise know that the last 10% takes…….FOREVER! 

 Di and I have the Champagne picked for the final day. Pol Sir Winston is our favourite. Yes, there are more expensive but for us, this bottle of Champagne is our comfort level of special occasion “premium”. 

That raises the question of the cigar to celebrate…and specifically what is the comfort level “special occasion premium?” There are no right answer people. However when you give yourself permission to “splurge” and your hand starts  to wander…where will it head? 

I still have some Por Larranaga Magnum from the 70’s but I don’t think this occasion will be the day. Don’t ask me why because I couldn’t answer you. I will probably go with a Cohiba Siglo VI 2003. It feels “right” and it has been a while since I have indulged in what is to my mind, one of the great cigars. Mission accomplished! 

When you give yourself permission to splurge on a special occasion…where would your hand wander? 

[loose_axle]

Congrats, well aware how tedious that can be, and I'm sure the relief is palpable!

Pol Sir Winston is a once in a lifetime splash out for me

As far as cigars go, mine on very special occasions currently would be Cohiba (Esplendidos, Lancero or a Siglo V or VI) or a great regional, at this stage of the journey - a Dip Bushido. Other things I would consider special is something from the 109 sizes out of Cuba or a Gran Reserva (especially as I've never tried one and a supremely special occasion would unchain my conscience long enough to throw the credit card at one). 

[MagicalBikeRide]

Congrats on the house @El Presidente. Super feeling once it’s all said and done.

 

Re your question - I’ve a strange relationship with special occasion cigars. Couple of things your post made me think about:

My wife doesn’t smoke, we have small children and live in a city house in Dublin, Ireland (so outside smoking only basically). As a result, I rarely / never smoke around them. We’re also at a point in life where we celebrate big occasions together. It rarely feels right to go off down the bottom of the garden and be alone. So I tend to pick a different day or time. 

I was unfortunate enough to lose a really good pal some years back. He was my only friend that smoked and he (his wife) left me a whole host of amazing sticks. I made an unconscious decision to just smoke the good ones as they were ready and leave nothing behind. It helped me grieve and gave me some magic moments of surprise, reflection, memory and contemplation - but I don’t have many ‘celebration sticks’ left as a result. 

And finally - I’ve found that the weight of expectation can simply lead to me being disappointed. No matter how well a box has been smoking - there are occasions I’ve looked forward to something specific and then been let down. 
 

So, if I were in your shoes, I’d probably do three things:

-1-

Not smoke on the ‘occasion’ itself but rather a convenient alternate time that suits better - likely same day before or after. But maybe a different day entirely. 

-2-

Not plan what to smoke in advance. 

-3-

When the moment arrives - I’d pop into the local beer garden (six doors down from my house), order myself a nice pint of stout and have brought two of the same sticks (if picking today, both would be AMO Siglo3 2016 - just feels right and I can’t explain why).

 

 

[Mr. Japan]

Bollinger RD...Cigars too many to choose, will decide on the moment (not in advance).

[cigaraholic]

Celebrated a birthday a couple of days ago, dessert was a lovely Sauternes with peach tart and…

[LizardGizmo]

Congrats on the house reno nearing its end - anytime we do work on the house, I think of that Tom Hanks movie "The Money Pit"..."When will it be done?" "TWO WEEKS!"
I have varying degrees of 'splurge'. As for holidays: for New Year this year, I'll do a vintage Pol Roger I picked up and a 2014 Sir Winston. For Thanksgiving, I'll have a 2014 Esplendido or a CoRo depending on my time. Christmas it'll be a 2011 Vegas Robaina Clásicos.
Next level: for my daughter's wedding or the birth of a grandchild or something, I'd probably reach for a 2002 Sir Winston, 2004 Partagás 8-9-8 or a 2002 Ramón Allones 8-9-8 which is a box I haven't cracked yet.

[Ford2112]

I have 2 sir winnies and 2 punch dc waiting for special occasions. 

[HailState]

I’ve got 2 BHK 52’s and 1 Cohiba 55th tucked away waiting for the right occasion.

[JohnS]

My wife and I have been discussing the upcoming wedding of our son, even though it's probably 18 months to two years away. For that occasion, I believe Tattinger Comte de Champagne, Hibiki 12, 2014 Diplomaticos Bushidos and 2013 Cohiba Behike 54s will likely be l'ordre du jour (the order of the day).

[Lfhard]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

My wife and I have been discussing the upcoming wedding of our son, even though it's probably 18 months to two years away. For that occasion, I believe Tattinger Comte de Champagne, Hibiki 12, 2014 Diplomaticos Bushidos and 2013 Cohiba Behike 54s will likely be l'ordre du jour (the order of the day).

Love Hibiki 12 and Behike 54. Wish I had more of both of those. Awesome choice. 

[benfica_77]

I just finished building my house from scratch the last 10% took years off my life. Congratulations for being done and not killing any tradespeople....I was close on many occasions. 

For a big event CoRo with a good bottle of Port or a Veuve Clicquot. I enjoy champagne and been wanting to expand my horizons, I really enjoyed the champagne masterclass video on FOH form last year. Holy moly... it was 3 years ago haha 

 

[Marco_011t556]

Congrats on the house renovation!

For me, Montecristo Supremos 2019 is a good choice, even better than Siglo vi, Esplendidos...cause Supremos is the cigar that made me fall in love with "special" cigars (D4 is the one that made me fall in love with regular cigars).

[Chas.Alpha]

Serious splurge? I guess I’d go for… Oh never mind. 😔

[Marco_011t556]

8 hours ago, JohnS said:

My wife and I have been discussing the upcoming wedding of our son, even though it's probably 18 months to two years away. For that occasion, I believe Tattinger Comte de Champagne, Hibiki 12, 2014 Diplomaticos Bushidos and 2013 Cohiba Behike 54s will likely be l'ordre du jour (the order of the day).

Congrats John!

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, Marco_011t556 said:

Congrats John!

Thanks Marco!

[BrightonCorgi]

18 hours ago, Chas.Alpha said:

Serious splurge? I gues I’d go for… Oh never mind. 😔

Great choice!

[Ford2112]

19 hours ago, Chas.Alpha said:

Serious splurge? I gues I’d go for… Oh never mind. 😔

What's the box code on that ?

[Lamboinee]

7 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

What's the box code

CNM, MAR - any year prior to 06

[Havanaaddict]

On 10/4/2024 at 2:57 AM, cigaraholic said:

Celebrated a birthday a couple of days ago, dessert was a lovely Sauternes with peach tart and…

This 

Congrats on the end of the home renovation that can be overwhelming at sometimes! 

When there’s something special, I will always reach for something super vintage from the 70s or 80s or just rare like a Humidor release. Since I usually smoke two cigars per time in my lounge, the second one always be an aged Cohiba, there’s nothing quite like that age Cohiba taste. But for those extra special occasions, like when my daughter got married, I had to reach for one my last few Cuban Davidoffs from the 80’s🤩

[jfire]

I purchased a box of your 2010 original release behike 54s you owned. (Pre Bondroberts aka FoH auctions) I allow myself one every couple years.

[Marco_011t556]

7 hours ago, jfire said:

I purchased a box of your 2010 original release behike 54s you owned. (Pre Bondroberts aka FoH auctions) I allow myself one every couple years.

Jealous...

[wjs]

Every year at harvest (Napa), I get that irresistible urge to splurge on something. Something to look forward to that isn’t another early morning and/or late night. This year it was a Wild Turkey Russell’s Reserve 15. Now I just have to finish the drill, get everything into barrel and choose a stick to go with it

[Chitmo]

Depends how special the occasion is, but for the sake of simplicity let’s say it’s as special as it gets...Pappy 15 and a Cohiba from a millennium Jar would probably be the best things I have the ability to reach for.