Your most valued/rare cigar is......?

[Nathan]

A few Opus from 2005 when I started smoking along with some Toast Across America sticks. I also have a half box of some LE Monte Ds from 2005. Everything else is pretty run of the mill.

[billybarue]

H Upmann Churchill from @ '92. I think it is a Monarcas vitola and it was a tubo.

We smuggled (did I just say that), I mean snuck a box out of Bahrain, UAE. One of my best buddies was my navigator on KC-135's and we stuck it in the "Secrets" bag. Back than we still carried all the codes for the Nuclear SIOP mission and nobody, I mean nobody could get in that bag but us. King of SIAM, POTUS, I don't care who you are (especially customs ) - you weren't getting in the secrets bag.

When we got back to the states my buddy was heading to pilot training. We went all the way to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force to get him a slot for pilot training. It took a lot of work but in the end we got him into pilot training and a year later at his graduation at the Officer's club he broke open the box. He didn't care who grabbed them but I watched many wasted by a bunch of drunk student pilots, their wives, and/or girlfriends.

He probably doesn't remembet but I saved two. Storage has been questionable over the last 20 years so I don't think they will smoke great, but that is not the point. He's a Colonel now and whenever he retires I'll be at the retirement ceremony and we'll find some time to burn them.

A lot more to the story and the friendship, but I hit the high points for brevity.