Don’t Forget the Classics
Summer is here in the United States, and with it comes new cigars. Every day here at Cigar Aficionado we hear of something new coming to market as we draw ever closer to the annual cigar industry trade show. This year, in fact, there are so many new things that we've created a hub to help you keep track of everything new.
But with all the talk of new cigars, allow me a moment to champion the old. No offense to new creations—I think they're wonderful and a sign of strength in this industry—but if you only consider what's new you might miss out on the tried and true.
I've been here a while (my 20-year anniversary at Cigar Aficionado was in June, if you can believe it) so I'm thinking back to cigars that I tried for the first time years and years ago, like my first Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story, given to me by a coworker my first month on the job. Plump, short, impeccably crafted with a rounded head, skinny foot and fattish lower body, wrapped in toothy Cameroon leaf—it's hard to top. I challenge you to find a better four-inch-long cigar. Hemingways have been on the market since the mid-1980s.
Or my first La Gloria Cubana Wavell, picked up in a cigar shop in New York City in 1994, a year before I joined CA. The store was called Arnold's (sadly, no longer open), and the cigar was hard to find. I lit it up in my car on the drive home and puffed away happily, marveling in the flavor of the tobacco. The non-Cuban La Gloria brand is as old as I am, 47 years.
Or my first Punch Double Corona, a Cuban marvel given to me by Marvin R. Shanken during what would become my final interview. I don't think I had ever enjoyed a cigar so much—or smoked one under more serious conditions. Punch is one of the age-old brands of the cigar world, dating back 175 years.
These cigars are still on the market for a reason. If you've tried all of them, wonderful. If one of them has eluded you (or might be new to you) give them a shot. I bet you'll be happy.
So by all means, seek out what's new and find your new favorites. But don't forget to try out the classics.
