Do you hang onto...
 

...that one special cigar your bought/received for a long time before smoking it?

If so, for how long?

And what is your reason for finally breaking it out and firing it up?


I am sort of strange, when I get a special cigar from someone, something I wouldn't normally smoke, I will put it away for some sort of an occasion.

With me birthdays, anniversaries, or even holidays are family time, and as I am the only smoker in the family, I normally enjoy family time sans cigar for those times. I do have a brother-in-law who enjoys a cigar, so if he's around and we can be outside, then things may change a little bit, but as he's in South Dakota, he isn't often here for these events.

When would I bring out one of those special cigars? I do enjoy a cigar by myself, but I enjoy them more in the company of friends who are also cigar smokers. Fishing, golfing, hunting, and such are all smoking occasions with friends. But they are not the right time for a special cigar. Special cigars come in case there is some sort of special success in the aforementioned activities; hole-in-one, round under 50 for 9-holes, monster buck, or spectacular size to a particular fish. But, as often as not, the special cigar stays in the traveldor.

That special cigar will come out when cigar smoking friends and I get together for the purpose of a herf - impromptu or not. And I am even more likely to reach for that special smoke with there will be more than two of us at such a herf, it allows that cigar to be passed and shared by many. The cigar then becomes a part of the event, even better when shared.

So, I have some cigars that I have had for 3 - 8 years that I have there. I am not sure that I am waiting for something special, or it is the fact that I don't smoke on a daily basis, which means I have these still lying around.

So, what's your story?

Peace of the Lord be with you.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

Todd, thank you for sharing and posing a very interesting question that I have thought about in the recent past.

I currently have three special cigars. All three have been aging for over 3 years and the oldest has been kept for about 7. I too am saving them all for a "special occasion" and I am almost afraid to light them up for fear the occasion will not warrant the smoke in hindsight. I recently gave a special cigar to a friend down here and he regrets smoking it while he was drunk, as he now has no memory of the event.

As for special occasions, I have many to look forward to; anniversaries, milestone birthdays (I am only 26), weddings, births, etc. I am sure I will acquire more special cigars and my current selection will be smoked and replaced. I am still a very "young" smoker and have many more years of aging and smoking ahead of me, I have contemplated enjoying one of my current special cigars on my year anniversary of being on this lovely island. Aside from that I think it will play it by ear.

Adam

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I typically keep 1-2 "special" cigars on hand for just mini-celebrations on my own. Making it through a particularly tough week/day, doing well on a test, or sometimes even just for the hell of it if its been awhile since I smoked one. As I haven't been home on my birthday the past two years, I've been picking out just a few good sticks, nothing too special for the day, typically at least one of my favorites is included.

That said, I do have a couple sticks in my humidor waiting for specific dates, but thats more for a seasonal purpose(ie, an Anejo for Christmas/Christmas Eve).

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I've got some special ones for the right time. Wedding, kids, stuff like that. Same with my wine cellar, and even some beer too.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

My special cigars are saved for "special occasions" when I actually have time to sit down and really focus on the stick. Those opportunities rarely present themselves at traditional occasions, i.e. holidays, celebrations, etc., because there is too much activity around me to really be able to focus on the smoke. But if I have a quite night with my wife, or even by myself, that is special enough for me to smoke my most prized cigar if I'm in the mood to try it.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

Currently I have 1 and only 1 special cigar. Opus X Chili Pepper. That one is waiting for my internship to turn into a full time job :tu

What helps me is that if I believe a cigar is super special I assign it to a certain milestone - thus FORCING me to smoke it eventually. I had my first Tat Frank when I graduated from college. I finally had my first Tat Pork Tenderloin when I was moved to a full time job from my previous internship (in hindsight I shouldn't have celebrated that :r).

Then there are the lesser special occasions...something as small as "hey - my heart has beaten consistently since the day I was born!" or "man - the air hasn't turned so toxic that it suffocates out human life...yet!" Actually...those are pretty huge special occasions :D

EDIT: I had forgotten about this, but I actually made a thread when I went from a crappy job to a not-as-crappy job. http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=33534
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Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I have a couple that have been gifted to me. I try and save them for a special occasion such as; waking up in the morning, seeing the sunset, petting the dog ect. I enjoy them when I can, because that time may never come. It's not the cigar that makes the moment!! The moment makes the cigar!!

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I smoke them as soon as I get a chance. I only need time to fully enjoy them.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

For sure! With me, I enjoy some of the more expensive cigars on those days. Not that I won't have one that is in the higher price range of my economic zone any day, but certainly not many days. Funny thing about that though, is that not in all cases do I enjoy those cigars more than those with lower price points....I just like the variety, but won't allow myself to go outside of what I think is reasonable.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I have a couple "special occasion" cigars, but not for a specific occasion, just when the moment is right I know those cigars are there. I hope to have one tonight or tomorrow, hopefully my wife will be getting a job offer very soon

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I have to agree with Axeman here even though I don't have many special cigars at the moment, maybe my mood will change when that happens, however I was just given an A. Fuente at lunch and it looks almost too good to smoke.-(P

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

Fuentes are always sentenced to a fiery death in a reasonable amount of time with me. The only exception to that rule is the Anejo I've been holding on to since they came out last year

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

What happens when you light up that special cigar, and you hate it? That's what worries me about saving them. I'm worried if I do, I wont like the cigar, forcing me to a "Go To" thus making the occasion not as special as it should have been.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I used to save them, but don't any more. None of us are promised another day and I'd hate to leave all my best cigars behind. I smoke them at an opportune time and enjoy them as soon as I can.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I'm reminded of a Spencer Christian line; "Some people wait for a special occasion to open a great bottle of wine, but opening a great bottle of wine can make any occasion special."

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I don't keep special occasion cigars on hand for any extended period of time. Usually the reason being if I want more they are only going to become more expensive and harder to find.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

:r :r :r

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I have 4 cigars (2 NCs & 2 CCs) from Nov. of 1994 waiting for a special date - and 4 (2 NCs & 2 CCs) from Jan. of 1997 waiting for a special date.

The dates? The 18th birtdays of each of my sons. They are not fancy cigars, just everyday smokes. But they will be incredible when they are part of those celebrations.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I have cigars that are now harder to find and that I love so I keep putting off smoking them, as I know I will not be getting anymore of them, but in general there are no cigars that I wont smoke, why have them if not to enjoy?

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I said yes, but...I have gone through a few special occasions and not smoking the cigars I've kept. I have a "Shark"(which I've had for a few years now) and a couple of those "other" cigars from that other island that I've held on to as well. I was going to smoke one on my bachelor party night but didn't. Was going to have one the night before my wedding, but didn't. And I didn't take one on my honeymoon either. I keep putting them off. I don't know why.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

Yes...more than I should.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I haven't smoked the more "special" cigars in my collection for a couple of reasons.

1. I'm afraid I may not be advanced enough in the hobby to enjoy them.
2. I'm afraid I will enjoy them.

Like you said before Rev. It's not really the cigar that makes the occasion for me, it's the occasion that makes the cigar. I'd rather share the ugly coyote with a good friend than a Monte Sublime alone.

Cheers!

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I burn em all after they age the way I like em. My motto is Why leave behind cigars for my wifes next husband to enjoy! :r

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I have a few special cigars to commemorate certain occasions.

Many boxes of 2008 EL Montecristo Sublimes to celebrate my wedding year.

Boxes of 2010 EL Montecristo Gran Edmundos to celebrate the birth of my son.

My only regret is that I wasn't into collecting cigars when my daughter is born in 2000. She has many bottles of bordeaux and vintage port though...

I'll smoke one of the above cigars on the anniversary/birthday.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

Yes but I also do just have them cause I need the sweet taste..

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I'm surprised there are not a lot more people in the "smoke 'em cuz you got 'em" category.

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Life is just too short to put them off. Special occasion? Hey, I didn't wake up dead today! Woohoo, party time!

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

Rev...I enjoy your thought provoking posts...thanks!

I have a box of smokes that I have saved for each of my children's birthdays. I plan on smoking one a year as they get older.

I'd posted a thread about it (can't find it on the quick) about buying my son a box of PAM 45s and having the entire Padron family sign it with a Happy 18th Bday wish to him and then re-factory seal it. I would call that special since it's going to be over 16 years before it gets broken open!

I had a few LgC Reservas from '06 I was saving for my daughter's wedding day BUT ended up finding a box of them so now I have a few more than expected! I'm figuring they'll be my annual Bday smoke for her now after I get through the Liberty '06s.

So, that's the long story.

Short story = Yes I have special occasion smokes. -(P

M

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

:tpd: I used to "save" cigars for special occasions, but have come to feel as Larry does. I'll hold on to a particular stick for a short while perhaps, maybe to bring to a herf to smoke in honor of the person who gave it to me, for example. But generally, I now smoke what I feel like when I feel like rather than holding on to something for that occasion which may never come. (And if the occasion DOES come, what if that stick I've been holding forever ends up tasting just slightly better than a Gurkha Viper?)

Having said that, I do have what I consider to be my Holy Grail cigars -- a box from each of my children's birth years. I smoke out of those boxes to commemorate milestone achievements and events in their lives.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

Yes!

Sometimes it pans out (the special occasion allows a quit time to reflect and enjoy the cigar), but most of the time the occasion does not allow for "the moment" to enjoy the special cigar!

This was one time it worked out perfectly:
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7269/449q.jpg

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

New haircut?

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

No, since my special occasions are always with my wife and kids and I don't smoke when they are around.
Everything in my humidor is up for grabs as long as the age is right.
Smoke them if you have them is my moto.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

i do have sticks that i save for a special moment... i got around 15 cc sticks that i age nearly 3 years and i actually have no idea what kind of event that i should smoke this... i even got 1 cohiba sublime 2004 that being given to me by my uncle at my wedding...yet have no idea when i want to lit it... i'm thinking of maybe my anniversary... or when i get my first born child or during his/her wedding..who know..

i am those kind of guy who smoke the cheapest stick he got in his possession and work way up...

do i have a problem? hell i'm in asylum already...

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I don't - although I do have one from 1954 I've been holding.

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Nice wax job on the vest!

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

:tpd:

If I wake up it is a special occasion. Not one stick I have is held back on a daily basis.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

Sadly, I have come to a point where I have more special occasion cigars than I think I will ever have enough special occasions to smoke them. I have recently began smoking said sticks more frequently knowing good and well that they need to go sometime.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I haven't been smoking that long, so saving a cigar for me means about a year... But yes. Some cigars I set aside for when everything is perfect. I have no idea how long I'll hold them. Time will tell.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

Todd, I used to hang on to "special" cigars for special events, but I just found that the hype I built into that cigar in most cases provided a let down for me.

I was saving a Opus BBMF Maduro for the last three years, I gave it to on of the owners of Xikar in Deadwood a couple weeks ago. I got more enjoyment watching some else enjoy a nice rare cigar they didn't have to pay for.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

You could've had one after last years Super Bowl...oh wait....

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I had one of those this year after the Packers won the Super Bowl, great cigar.

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I have one cigar that I'm hanging onto, a CC Davi 5000. I have a good reason to smoke it once I get back from Afghanistan, so when the wife and I take my son to Disney, I'm gonna bring it and have it there.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I Have Special Cigars For Remembering My Parents, My Anniversary, & Birthday. Special Events Require Remembering With Special Cigars!:tu Great Thread, Rev.!:)

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I typically save the more rare / expensive ones for special events - however, there is no time like the present!!

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I used to save them for special occasions until my health problems last fall when I was convinced that I would not leave the hospital alive. When I got home I decided that you can't take it with you so I have smoked several of the special cigars since any day that I am on top of the grass is a cause for celebration.:D

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

This...as life can take a turn rather quickly, but mind you I'll take the time to fully enjoy it.

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

In the past I have bought special cigars specifically for special occasions. For instance, I bought some super old cigars once for a camping trip in the Spring, then the guys I planned to smoke them with didn't come, so I smoked them with sofaman at the next camping deal in the Fall. That was a few years ago.
I am fortunate to be blessed with an awful mess of really nice cigars that would fit in the "special occasion cigar" range. I'm not saving any of them. When someone comes by who appreciates a good cigar, or I go where someone appreciates a good cigar, I take a bunch along. Any of my cigars are your cigars, I've got nothing that I won't share at any moment. That makes it real fun, cause I make someone else pick when they come over. Their excitement adds another level, ya know?

Re: Do you hang onto...
 

I don't really save any of them intentionally. There's one that's been with me for a while, though.

Back in the early/mid nineties, a good friend of mine had parents who used to go to Spain a few times a year. On each trip, they would always pick up a box of Esplendidos in the duty free shop for him (they had $$$ ;)). We'd get together for cocktails and a cigar a couple of times a month back then, and I ended up with one sitting in my desktop humidor. For a period from the late nineties until '06 I didn't smoke many cigars, and that humidor became something of a time capsule. Now, that lone Esplendido is all that remains of my stash from the boom times.

It's been sitting there for somewhere between fifteen and twenty years now. At this point I look at it as more of a good luck talisman than as a cigar. :lr