Introduction to Cigar Smoking 101
An invitation to join us….
Cigar smoking can represent a certain lifestyle obtainable by anyone. Often one is introduced to cigar smoking through camaraderie, and are passed a cigar while golfing or joining others in leisure activities. The taste and smell of a premium cigar is unlike any other smoking experience, and the experience is varied every time you light up a cigar. Each cigar has it’s own unique aroma and flavor, with varied nuisances that you learn to identify and appreciate as your knowledge grows. As you explore cigar smoking, you also experience the relaxation associated with smoking a good cigar, which can last for over two hours. The rituals you adopt associated with cigar smoking can enhance the experience and the restful atmosphere while enjoying cigars. Celebrating special events with others who appreciate a good cigar can be a very rewarding experience and enhance the celebration. Appreciating the art of cigar making, caring for and storing cigars and aspects of collecting and smoking older vintages, pre-embargo Cuban tobacco and scarce cigars can also make for a pleasurable cigar experience. Obtaining and using quality accessories such as lighters, ashtrays, humidors, travel cases and other products can further enhance cigar appreciation.
Appreciation of cigars can be shared and experienced with your friends and other associates during the proper time and place, and depending upon those receptive to cigar smoking. In this day and age where smoking is mostly negatively identified with cigarette smoking, there is indeed a time and place. While it is not recommended to persuade someone to smoke cigars if they are not so inclined, the introduction of this lifestyle to those open to try premium cigars at the right time and place can greatly introduce one to a new and unique experience which is diverse and entertaining.
CigarDuck.com seeks to educate those interested in learning and appreciating more about cigars and the world around them. As in every hobby or niche, there are a group of individuals who are pretentious about cigar smoking, and we really are not interested in that realm. Our goal is to give those interested an opportunity to obtain a basic education regarding cigar smoking, and the opportunity to appreciate the benefits of relaxation and camaraderie which is often associated with cigar smoking. We also strive to identify and review affordable cigars and products which are highly ranked or praised, so just about anyone can afford some of the finest to be offered from the premium cigar industry.
To briefly begin, we are interested in premium cigars: those which are hand made. The common tobacco products include cigarettes, chewing or smokeless tobacco, small cigars, “tiparillos,” manufactured cigars (cigars made by machine) and premium cigars (made by hand). Flavored cigars are a fast growing and popular segment of manufactured cigars and one which we are not interested. Premium cigars make up a small percentage of the tobacco market, and the characteristics are unique to its own market segment. No one is going to discuss in great detail the flavor and aroma characteristics of a convenience store cigar (though, some convenience stores have begun carrying premium cigars for those in a pinch for a decent cigar).
The majority of premium cigars sold in America are imported each year, primarily from Nicaragua, the Dominica Republic and, to a lesser extent, Honduras. Cuban cigars are still off limits in the United States, though there has been some strides in recent years to indicate this ban may be coming to an end, or at least provide optimism and hope for the ban to end. Many of the top cigars, however, now come from Nicaragua and the Dominica Republic, so Americans are not missing out on quality, premium cigars.
There are many reputable distributors of premium cigars to purchase product and accessories for our use. At CigarDuck.com, we strive to identify some of those dealers and products by way of reviews and links to those products. Our goal is to provide honest opinions and options for a quality products within the premium cigar and accessory market segment, as well as to provide some high quality CigarDuck.com merchandise, as well. In full disclosure, the links we provide are affiliate links, and we receive a small commission from sales which result from those links. Rest assured, though, that we will never recommend a supplier from which we do not regularly use ourselves, and are highly satisfied by their products and services. We strive to identify affordable opportunities to obtain high quality cigars and products.
Our cigar reviews are based on our reviewers opinions and experience with that particular cigar and the session(s) smoking it. We strive to publish and convey the observations in the most objective means, understanding that your opinion of a particular cigar may greatly differ from ours, for the better or the worst. Each review begins the manufacture and name of the cigar, with an indicator of cigar strength, and a brief bio of that cigar that you will find as part of the description at the distributor’s website. Next will come our observations of the taste, aroma, and burn of the cigar. Finally, our verdict and the link to where you can purchase. We will include a photo of the cigar and band, prior to and during its use.