Cigar Moments Of The Year (Personally)

A look at some of my favourite smokes this year as well as the best cigar memory to call upon in the future.

This is going to be difficult, but my New Year’s Resolution is to start smoking more. I know some object to this statement and think it’s a not-so-harmful joke. In fact, I think people lose perspective on this. Yes, it’s tongue-in-cheek, but the reality is that we must look at a person’s health holistically.

I have been a regular gym-goer (who knows what he’s doing) for ten years. I never smoke cigarettes and never done any drugs despite its widespread availability. I drink in periods, never constantly (one sin at a time is often best).

Many things are bad for your health. The risk of collision in a car is so likely that many of us are used to it and don’t think twice about getting into a car, but when a risky product comes along, the whole picture of risk management gets skewed.

I smoke cigars because I enjoy the experience, I like the relaxation (some would say the ‘hit’), the ritual of smelling, cutting, lighting, and enjoying. Nobody ever paid ransom to sit down in a cigarette lounge and discuss the chemical composition of a 20-pack of Benson & Hedges.

Sermon over. Cigar moments to follow.

Favourite Cigar: Davidoff Signature 2000.

Impeccable quality. So smooth, easy to smoke, great draw. I smoked this in the Dakota Bar in Manchester, which had a perfectly lovely, dark, and moody interior (probably too dark for a meal). The terrace was decent if not a little cold until I asked them to flip the heaters on. Such is Manchester.

While it was no holy Cuban expedition (or rather Dominican), this cigar still stood out as the best smoke of the year, and absolutely worth every penny.

Favourite Cigar Moment: Kraków, July.

Nothing beats a completely unscripted evening, a great cheap meal, and sitting outside a bar along a beautiful cosy street with your mate (talking bollocks), meeting locals, and watching a very warm evening go by.

Honourable Moments

Meeting the man himself, Edward Sahakian. I just managed to catch him strolling out of Piccadilly Arcade (after his shoe shine in Burlington Arcade) onto Jermyn Street a stone’s throw away from Davidoff on St. James’s Street.

I turned to my right and along walks Edward, and I had to say hello. “Mr Sahakian, may I say hello”, were the words as I extended my hand. I mentioned I was briefly visiting London and we chatted about the rich concentrated history the area has.

As gentlemanly as ever, when I said I came up from Liverpool, he said his family have some fans, and that as I get on my way, I too should go for a shoe shine as the guy is also “…a cigar man”, so Edward put it. I had to ask if I could take a few photos before moving on, and he generously obliged.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" he asked.
I said, "Oh, please do".

And with no thanks to me - what a great photograph.

I think these images account for every cigar I’ve had this year, which isn’t many, about 8-10. I think we can strategise how to double those figures for growth, particularly in Q2/Q3.