In Part I of our interview with Nick Tarabay, we talked about his acting, the TV series Crash, working with Dennis Hopper, and growing up in Lebanon.

In Part II, the talk turns to cigars ... how he got started, how he enjoys cigars with wine, and other burning issues like if cigars should be stored with the cellophane on or off.

Puff: Let's talk about cigars.

Nick:    My love for cigars started about two years ago.  Or about a year and a half ago.  I started getting into it.  I smoked in the past, but I didn't appreciate it, I didn't know what smoking a cigar is, or the work that goes into the cigar, and the feeling that you get smoking a cigar.

Puff:    Tell us about that.  How you got started smoking cigars and how you enjoy it. 

Nick:    It started out in Mexico.  I went with my ex-girlfriend, we went on a vacation in Mexico and I started to smoke. In Mexico, they had Cuban cigars. You hear all this stuff about Cuban cigars, and so, I tried it. 

I started smoking cigars and then, ... what's beautiful about smoking a cigar is the experience you get while you are smoking it.  The feeling that you get ...it's almost like acting.  You transform from one person to another. 

And for me smoking a cigar was always about taking time to make time.  Taking time for yourself.  People often make the big mistake of confusing smoking a cigar and  cigarettes.  And they are completely different. Absolutely different.  I mean, this is like a... for me when I smoke a cigar, it's like I'm saying, hey, I'm taking time to take care of myself.

So, it's... and the whole experience itself, you know just holding a cigar, there is this uplifting. You think of the great personalities in the past and the present who smoke cigars, who they are, they had this almost ... an essence of power while smoking a cigar.

You know what I'm saying.  And it is a man's man thing.  For example, the Godfather, or something like that, you know.  So, I started in Mexico.  I started walking with my girl at the time in the streets and smoking a cigar and I'm really enjoying this.  This is really fun.  So, it started as pure fun. 

And then a couple of days later, we were all sitting, having drinks and I want a cigar.  Walking in the streets smoking a cigar, sitting and drinking and smoking a cigar, it was... I felt like Don Juan.  You know.  It's one of those things that will affect everybody different.  And cigars affected me completely different.  It was a match waiting to happen.  And I'm glad that I found it.

Puff:    So, Nick.  Can you tell us what some of your favorite cigars are? 

Nick:    One that I really like most now, is Partagás Série P No. 2.

Puff:    Nice. Partagás No. 2.  Would that be the Habano version? 

Nick:    Yeah, they are very smooth and, I don't know, it's just one of those things that you connect with.  There's Diplomatico as well, that I really like.  And I also like Davidoff  cigars.

Puff:    Now, my next question is one of the burning issues of the cigar communities, especially for the newbie's, as we call them (no pun intended, on burning issue), but ...  When you store your cigars in your humidor at home, do you store them with the cellophane on, or off? 

Nick:    On. 

Puff:    On.  Okay.  There you have it.  Mr. Tarabay says, cellophane on.  Now, I don't care about what anybody says about cellophane off.  (Laughing.)

Nick:    Well, this is something I tried and it worked.  You know what I mean? 

Puff:    Right.  It's just in the cigar forums, the question... it's like that question is always asked. Somebody will always post, "should you take the cellophane off, or leave it on?" And it's now answered!

Nick:    Exactly, exactly. Yeah.  I just keep it on. 

Puff:    I just had to throw that one in there.