Thoughts at Random

[Colt45]

While sitting in the sun enjoying a very nice Montecristo No.2, my wandering mind had a few thoughts.

New member japhi mentioned he is fascinated with cigar culture, and it got me thinking - what is cigar culture?

Is it simply enjoyment of cigars? The new obsession with aquiring all the accoutrements?

Becoming involved with an association, or networking and camaraderie?

This led me to my next thought of settings and cigars.

Pick your ideal spot. The sunny green countryside of the U.K in summertime, where the mountains

meet the sea on the Baja in Mexico, a lakeside cabin in the woods, a secluded island in the South Pacific,

the mangroves of the Florida Keys - wherever.

Does a good cigar make this an ideal setting, or does this setting make for the perfect cigar?

And lastly, and quite random - does anyone ever feel that their taste buds work cyclically?

Not that every cigar tastes the same, but that you seem to sense the same type of flavors

for stretches at a time?

[zuma]

Interesting thoughts Colt...

» - what is cigar culture?

» Is it simply enjoyment of cigars? The new obsession with acquiring all the accouterments? Becoming involved with an association, or networking and camaraderie?

Personally, I think it is all of the above... (assuming here that in the "accouterments" a cigar collection is included). Add to that we tend to promote the virtues of a good cigar, encourage and enjoy its perfection, and protect our right to indulge in them.

» This led me to my next thought of settings and cigars.

» Pick your ideal spot. The sunny green countryside of the U.K in summertime, where the mountains meet the sea on the Baja in Mexico, a lakeside cabin in the woods, a secluded island in the South Pacific, the mangroves of the Florida Keys - wherever. Does a good cigar make this an ideal setting, or does this setting make for the perfect cigar?

I find that the perfect spot always calls for the perfect cigar... if I am bound to go to such a place, I tend to take my best... it is almost a self fulfilling prophecy: a great cigar is always present in the ideal setting...

» And lastly, and quite random - does anyone ever feel that their taste buds work cyclically?

» Not that every cigar tastes the same, but that you seem to sense the same type of flavors for stretches at a time?

I tend to crave certain nuances and flavours, which tend to change throughout the year... I have never given much thought to it though, so I am unaware of any trends...

[smokum]

» Does a good cigar make this an ideal setting, or does this setting make

» for the perfect cigar?

I think the setting makes the cigar more enjoyable

»

» And lastly, and quite random - does anyone ever feel that their taste buds

» work cyclically?

I believe this is true and it may be due to what I feel is my immature palate. Even after smoking cigars for many years. It is only recently that I have actually tried to describe flavors. There are times when identifying different nuances come naturally and just flow out. But most of the time the flavors are very similar. They may come out at diffent parts of the cigar i.e. 1st third vs. 2nd etc. But the same notes seem to be very common to my taste buds.

[El Presidente]

» While sitting in the sun enjoying a very nice Montecristo No.2, my

» wandering mind had a few thoughts.

»

Very dangerous.

» New member japhi mentioned he is fascinated with cigar culture, and it got

» me thinking - what is cigar culture?

» Is it simply enjoyment of cigars? The new obsession with aquiring all the

» accoutrements?

» Becoming involved with an association, or networking and camaraderie?

»

I really couldn't give a toss about accoutrements. While I appreciate great humidors, great cutters, great lighters....I just don't need any of them to experience cigar culture as I see it. To me "cigar culture" falls into wo categories. 1. The sheer clarity of thought and piece of mind when enjoying a fine cigar by yourself and 2. The laughter cammaraderie and fraternity of sharing cigars with friends.

» This led me to my next thought of settings and cigars.

» Pick your ideal spot. The sunny green countryside of the U.K in

» summertime, where the mountains

» meet the sea on the Baja in Mexico, a lakeside cabin in the woods, a

» secluded island in the South Pacific,

» the mangroves of the Florida Keys - wherever.

» Does a good cigar make this an ideal setting, or does this setting make

» for the perfect cigar?

To me, in such settings the cigar plays second fiddle. It is the cross on the "T" the dot on the "i"...it enhances and crystallizes the experience increaseing the utility.

»

» And lastly, and quite random - does anyone ever feel that their taste buds

» work cyclically?

» Not that every cigar tastes the same, but that you seem to sense the same

» type of flavors

» for stretches at a time?

I can resonate with that statement. If I find that if after three days there is a sameness to the flavours of cigars I take a two day break. Works wonders.

[mkz]

» While sitting in the sun enjoying a very nice Montecristo No.2, my

» wandering mind had a few thoughts.

My brain is mostly in standby on these occasions. Mmmmmm.... cigar.... *drool*

» New member japhi mentioned he is fascinated with cigar culture, and it got

» me thinking - what is cigar culture?

» Is it simply enjoyment of cigars? The new obsession with aquiring all the

» accoutrements?

» Becoming involved with an association, or networking and camaraderie?

For me, its simply the enjoyment of a good cigar.

But also to have a great and never ending hobby with new horizons everywhere I look.

Of course shiny, expensive toys and other cool stuff can be fun, but I rather spend my hard earned money on cigars instead.

» This led me to my next thought of settings and cigars.

» Pick your ideal spot. The sunny green countryside of the U.K in

» summertime, where the mountains

» meet the sea on the Baja in Mexico, a lakeside cabin in the woods, a

» secluded island in the South Pacific,

» the mangroves of the Florida Keys - wherever.

» Does a good cigar make this an ideal setting, or does this setting make

» for the perfect cigar?

My perfect spot is when its not snowing or raining.

Right now its springtime here in Sweden and its beautiful to just sit and puff away looking at the awakening of the nature. The sound of birds trying to get laid and qute little butterflies flapping their wings.

[anacostiakat]

There you go, thinking again. . . ;-)

The cigar embellishes the moment for me.

Like Rob, the accoutrements don't mean a lot other than their funtionality. They are nice, no doubt. But ultimately it is the cigar and the enjoyment I chase. . .

My palate goes through cycles for sure. I hate it but it seems to be a fact. It is frustrating at times.

[SmokinAl]

» While sitting in the sun enjoying a very nice Montecristo No.2, my

» wandering mind had a few thoughts.

»

» New member japhi mentioned he is fascinated with cigar culture, and it got

» me thinking - what is cigar culture?

» Is it simply enjoyment of cigars? The new obsession with aquiring all the

» accoutrements?

» Becoming involved with an association, or networking and camaraderie?

For me, it's all these things. I enjoy collecting the paraphernalia but it’s secondary to the “quiet smoke”. I have gotten a huge kick out of meeting you guys and it’s the first time I’ve been involved in a group such as this. Perhaps I’m simply comforted that I’m not the only one whose idea of a good time is to sit quietly and set $50 on fire. ;-)

»

» This led me to my next thought of settings and cigars.

» Pick your ideal spot. The sunny green countryside of the U.K in

» summertime, where the mountains

» meet the sea on the Baja in Mexico, a lakeside cabin in the woods, a

» secluded island in the South Pacific,

» the mangroves of the Florida Keys - wherever.

» Does a good cigar make this an ideal setting, or does this setting make

» for the perfect cigar?

I'm not sure location even comes into it. It’s a state of mind. One complements the other. I wouldn’t have a cigar if I wasn’t in a mood to enjoy it. I think the location is far less important than the timing. Some of the best smokes I’ve had have been sitting in the shop late at night, exhausted and covered in sawdust. Not a location that most people would envy.

»

» And lastly, and quite random - does anyone ever feel that their taste buds

» work cyclically?

» Not that every cigar tastes the same, but that you seem to sense the same

» type of flavors

» for stretches at a time?

Too right. My tastes seem to change with the seasons and to a lesser extent through the day.

[Colt45]

Some thoughtful posts.

I'd never really given much thought to "cigar culture". At root I guess culture is a way of life or being.

And as much as I enjoy cigars, for me, I'm not sure they're a way of life.

On the flip side, I think the culture could be looked at as not just sharing the enjoyment of cigars,

but in all the things that go along with that as well. I think I can sink my teeth into that - FOH is a great

example.

As to settings, I fall in the camp of feeling a good cigar in a great setting is icing on the cake.

I'm going to try and keep track of tastes over the coming months, I should try and keep some notes.

And yes, a rare bout of lucidity :-)

[BigSlick]

» While sitting in the sun enjoying a very nice Montecristo No.2, my

» wandering mind had a few thoughts.

»

» New member japhi mentioned he is fascinated with cigar culture, and it got

» me thinking - what is cigar culture?

» Is it simply enjoyment of cigars? The new obsession with aquiring all the

» accoutrements?

» Becoming involved with an association, or networking and camaraderie?

»

» This led me to my next thought of settings and cigars.

» Pick your ideal spot. The sunny green countryside of the U.K in

» summertime, where the mountains

» meet the sea on the Baja in Mexico, a lakeside cabin in the woods, a

» secluded island in the South Pacific,

» the mangroves of the Florida Keys - wherever.

» Does a good cigar make this an ideal setting, or does this setting make

» for the perfect cigar?

»

» And lastly, and quite random - does anyone ever feel that their taste buds

» work cyclically?

» Not that every cigar tastes the same, but that you seem to sense the same

» type of flavors

» for stretches at a time?

Yes

[BigSlick]

» » While sitting in the sun enjoying a very nice Montecristo No.2, my

» » wandering mind had a few thoughts.

» »

» » New member japhi mentioned he is fascinated with cigar culture, and it

» got

» » me thinking - what is cigar culture?

» » Is it simply enjoyment of cigars? The new obsession with aquiring all

» the

» » accoutrements?

» » Becoming involved with an association, or networking and camaraderie?

For me, it's all of the above. The journey.

» » This led me to my next thought of settings and cigars.

» » Pick your ideal spot. The sunny green countryside of the U.K in

» » summertime, where the mountains

» » meet the sea on the Baja in Mexico, a lakeside cabin in the woods, a

» » secluded island in the South Pacific,

» » the mangroves of the Florida Keys - wherever.

» » Does a good cigar make this an ideal setting, or does this setting make

» » for the perfect cigar?

Cigar makes the setting for me. For some reason my mind can bookmark a place, time and surroundings with a cigar.» »

» » And lastly, and quite random - does anyone ever feel that their taste

» buds

» » work cyclically?

» » Not that every cigar tastes the same, but that you seem to sense the

» same

» » type of flavors

» » for stretches at a time?

Absolutely!

[Don Candido]

Colt, After the level of posts you regularly spew out, to come out with such a thoughtful post is stunning ;-)

» While sitting in the sun enjoying a very nice Montecristo No.2, my

» wandering mind had a few thoughts.

»

» New member japhi mentioned he is fascinated with cigar culture, and it got

» me thinking - what is cigar culture?

» Is it simply enjoyment of cigars? The new obsession with aquiring all the

» accoutrements?

» Becoming involved with an association, or networking and camaraderie?

For me, it is all of the above. All of those aspects are important to me at one time or another, and they shift regularly.

» This led me to my next thought of settings and cigars.

» Pick your ideal spot. The sunny green countryside of the U.K in

» summertime, where the mountains

» meet the sea on the Baja in Mexico, a lakeside cabin in the woods, a

» secluded island in the South Pacific,

» the mangroves of the Florida Keys - wherever.

» Does a good cigar make this an ideal setting, or does this setting make

» for the perfect cigar?

For me, just having returned from a secluded island in the South Pacific, where I brought a sick humidor of cigars, I am sure the cigar and the timing are more important than the location for me. When I was in the mood to smoke a cigar on the trip, it was more enjoyable, than when I told myself I was in the mood and lit up anyway. When I was not in the mood to smoke, even though the selection I brought was unbelievable to me, I did not smoke. When I was in the mood to smoke, but was not sure I wanted something so great, I realized I did not want to smoke, because everything I brought on the trip was too good for the moment. I was in paradise, but for whatever reason (which included heavy winds and being sick with a head cold) I often chose not to light up.

»

» And lastly, and quite random - does anyone ever feel that their taste buds

» work cyclically?

» Not that every cigar tastes the same, but that you seem to sense the same

» type of flavors

» for stretches at a time?

Yes, sort of. There are certainly shifts over time to my enjoyment of various smokes. Is it cyclical? I do not know. It definitely changes from time to time.

Ross - Thanks for the Thoughts at Random. In fact, these are not thoughts at random - these are "Deep Thoughts" on cigar smoking and smokers attitudes and motivations.