Smoking Cigars – A Lifetime Of Pleasure

Is there anything more satisfying than smoking a really good cigar? Very few things satisfy all five senses while providing real relaxation and a sense of camaraderie. A cigar is one. Being able to really appreciate a fine cigar is like a lifetime membership in a private club. Whenever you meet another member, you have an instant connection, a feeling of fellowship and a new friend. Smoking cigars really is a way of life.

The history of smoking cigars is a long one. Native Americans domesticated the tobacco plant over two thousand years ago! By the time Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, tobacco was being cultivated throughout North, Central and South America. Native Americans largely used tobacco ceremonially and as a signifier of important events. Columbus' sailors observed tobacco being used, particularly noting the smoking of rolled tobacco leaves. The Native Americans called this practice "sicar", which in Spanish became "cigarro". Hence, the modern word cigar was born.

The popularity of the "cigaro" slowly spread, so that by the end of the 19th century there were approximately 5000 cigar making households in New York City alone. These small cigar making concerns or chinchales were almost all operated out of small apartments by families of artisans. Little has changed.

Today, the best cigars are still manufactured by hand in small, select batches. Real cigar aficionados look for the words "totalmente a mano" or "hecho a mano"  on a cigar box. These phrases mean "totally hand made" and "made by hand" in Spanish and help the real connoisseur begin to identify a quality smoke. To many who truly enjoy smoking cigars, a fine cigar must be hand made. These smokers feel that the homogenization brought to cigar making by machine manufacture robs these "processed" cigars of any identity or personality.

Smoking cigars is still a traditional and ceremonial practice. We smoke fine cigars to celebrate new life and to remember old friends. We end a good meal with them, as well as observe the start of a new relationships, either business or personal, with them. Wherever there is a victory to commemorate or a success to celebrate, look for the cigar. They are a part of a lifetime of pleasu