What about a cigar?

  Why not a cigar?  I've never really been an enthusiast of them. They're big, they smell pretty bad, the smoke settles into absolutely everything, and most of all, they're expensive. Like really, really expensive.  Upwards of $12 for a good one, at times.  O.K., not always that expensive, but still exponentially more than pipe tobacco. Well, lately I've been feeling like trying it out again. I bought a cigar in town with the intention of convincing myself of why I never got into cigars before. It didn't work.  I loved the thing.  It was slow, cool, flavorful, and didn't smell too bad, either.  Damn.  So I picked up a couple different sampler packs of high end cigar brands from my favorite online tobacconist, warmed up the old humidor, and gave it a whirl again for the first time in well over a decade. 

  First off, there is a whole lot of stuff about cigars I didn't know. Different tobaccos, different rolling styles and techniques, different nationality, all of which is supposed to have a dramatic effect on the cigar itself. Second of all, most of it seems like hogwash to me. Maybe my pallet isn't tuned to cigars, but one cigar pretty much tastes (and smells) like the next one to me. The big (read: huge) difference is strength. A mild cigar is a little flat in the flavor department, but fun to smoke for an hour, or more depending on size. Then there's a scale moving up to "full", which is like a torture session involving a mouthful of flaming black pepper until I can't take it anymore, and abandon something I shelled out money for. Experience is a good thing to HAVE, but getting it can really suck.

  I plan on following this up later with a brief recap of what I've read up on about cigars. Fillers, binders, and wrapper tobacco. Sizes, cuts, and lighting. Even the Cuban embargo. And the awesomely ridiculous existing and proposed FDA regulation. Now go smoke something, you've wasted enough time on me.