I’m telling you that I could go to a cigar dinner every single night of the week. Of course I’d weigh six hundred pounds, smell like a junkyard fire, and women would never come near me. Ah, such is the price of a great time with some great cigars.

A well-run cigar dinner can be so enjoyable, as guys from all walks of life enjoy the camaraderie of their fellow BOTL. There’s good food, good drink, good conversation, and good cigars… and man, that’s a combination you don’t want to be left out of!

Back in the mid to late 90’s when the cigar boom was in full swing, you could attend a cigar dinner or function almost any day that ended in the letters d – a - y. Cigars were all the rage and guys gathered in bars and restaurants, all to enjoy the passion we all… well, the passion that we’re all passionate about! The problem was that all these no-name new comers were pushing their products, passing off dog rockets as the next coming of Cohiba. They’d stick manufacturer’s thirds in a fancy embossed cedar box with gold foil and a silk ribbon and sell them for ten bucks a shot. Posers that were peddling whole life policies just six months prior were now claiming that their family members rolled puros for Castro, himself! Wow, there was some god awful crap out back then. Every damned brand started with the name “Don”, who was some mythical tobacco god, born of blending greatness. The bad thing about this was that these crappy brands really ruined many a nice gathering.

But the good thing that came of it was all the new lovers of the leaf in the world! And with all these new cigar fans, the cigar dinner has resurrected itself! And with all these new brands that are being marketed, the reps from these companies are constantly sponsoring dinners. Altadis, General, CAO, Camacho, Arganese, Rocky Perdomo, Miranda and a host of others are making the rounds across the country, appearing at dinners for a happy group of very passionate fans. With all the damned obstacles in a cigar company’s path, these people are working harder than ever before to bring their leaf wrapped goodness to guys like you and me.

A really great story is what a bunch of guys in my old home state of New Jersey are doing at the Metropolitan Cigar Club. You may have heard about them in Smoke and Cigar Magazine, as well as the various cigar forums on the web. Fifteen years ago they met once a week at a restaurant in north Jersey and their club dinners grew to over one hundred people. Then, when the smoking laws put an end to the fun, a handful of core members found a large open space in an industrial complex, and built with their own hands a fantastic men’s club complete with plasma screens, card and pool tables, walk-in humidor lockers, and a beautiful dining room that fits 80 people! There is nothing like it in the country – a private cigar club where the members run the show and do an amazing job. They have a cigar dinner on the first Wednesday of every month and the Brownstone of Patterson, NJ, the club’s original restaurant, still caters the affair. All the major cigar companies and fine liquor distributors clamor to bring their goods to the events and it is simply a night to remember, each and every time out!