Subtitle: Inside the Mind of a Cigar Smoker

By Michaelson Williams, TSX, author of YOU ARE ILLUMINATI, Trainwashing: The Secrets of Positive Brain Washing, True Success Naturally, The Legacy Wife, and more…

This article was originally featured in MMAP Magazine, and I thought I would share it here just in case some of you cigar smokers didn’t get a chance to download it.

Okay, let’s talk about the cigar smoking experience..

After smoking cigars for more than four decades, I've come to my own conclusions about the cigar smoking experience. Some of my points here you may agree with, and some you won't, but next time you spark up your favorite smoke, think about what I figured out for myself. Speak to the guys you're hanging with to see what they think, and at the very least, let these ideas open the door to some great conversations.

Here we go! Cigar smoking can only be subjective to the individual, no matter what baseline parameters are put in place. Let's take taste, for example. No matter what the suggested notes — black pepper, cinnamon, earthy, vanilla, coffee (not flavored), caramel, tree bark, leather, salty, chocolate, spicy, and on and on — it's all subjective. This idea is what, in my opinion, makes the cigar smoking experience so popular.

Cigar smoking has grown in popularity because of the fact that you can be anyone — anyone in the world, rich or poor — even borderline living on the streets, and somehow a cigar in hand puts you on a level playing field with every other man in the space. If only for a few moments. In a room full of men smoking cigars, everyone is having their own experience while at the same time having a collective one as well. The different cigars are mixing and mingling, creating an almost spiritual atmosphere — you know — kind of primitive in nature.

At the same time, every man in the room is having his own personal cigar smoking experience, proudly puffing away, as the varying shades of smoke exit and move toward their counterparts. With each and every draw of his chosen cigar, there are notes that another man may not experience. The subjective cigar smoking model is created, lived in, and expressed through the conversations going on in the space. Billionaires connect with the Average Joes, remembering what it was like when their journey began, and the regular guys there observe their possible future.

Of course, don't get me wrong here. There are baselines in the taste of every cigar a man puts between his fingers. Due to the physical material of a cigar and its geographical location, some of its tasting notes are more prevalent than others. This is why most cigar smokers may notice the "earthy, leathery, or oily" taste of a cigar before picking up anything else in its taste profile. While still subjectively driven, these baselines are recognized as being close to the same by most cigar smokers. The subjective cigar tasting experiences amplify in the more nuanced flavor pulls. One guy draws on his chosen cigar — a Padron Anniversary — and picks up a hint of pepper or spice with a hint of vanilla extract, while another, puffing away at a Plasencia 1865 Alma Fuerte, notices spice, leather, and earthy chocolate. If you switched these cigars between my two examples and had them compare, each would express a divergent experience.

There are so many factors, even outside of the actual cigar, that lend to the cigar smoking experience — like mood, palate, pairing, number of cigars smoked in the same day, etc. There are variables to the cigar smoking experience that are so subjective that most guys don't even consider the idea at all. There are also guys that are so locked in that their cigar smoking experiences are planned right down to the tea, and virtually every nuance of the cigar they're smoking is taken in. I'm both types of guy and everything in between depending on my mood, smoking location, and who's smoking with me. The whole idea is to enjoy the atmosphere that every new smoke brings.

Whatever type of cigar smoker you are, I hope that you're making sure you are enjoying every minute of the experience with strong men who love to discuss big ideas. Men who stand on strong morals and who can see the world from a lens that isn't shattered by too many bad life experiences. I hope that the conversations you have in this circle of men are grounded in truth and honesty. I desire that with each and every pull of that chosen cigar and sip of your favorite paired drink, that you find peace and calm, where the pressures of life are blown out in the smoke of each exhale.

Written by Michaelson Williams
Creator of The MichaelsonEffect
Editor-n-Chief at MMAP Magazine

All honest comments, ratings, and reviews are welcomed and greatly appreciated.