Why I Smoke Cigars -- And Write About It

[AspiringGent]

I wonder if our grandfathers and great-grandfathers are looking down at us, pipe or cigar in hand, wondering why we’re in such a rush. Why are we taking shots of Jack when we could be sipping and savoring a fine whisky? Why are we smoking 2 minute cigarettes instead of enjoying the complex and evolving flavor profile of a fine stogie? What is this thing, the “travel mug”? Can’t we just sit and enjoy a coffee without constantly speeding about?

I’ve been pondering these questions for some time. What has caused the death of these once cherished manly rituals? And what have we lost by abandoning these traditions – shelving our fine badger-haired shaving brushes for goop in a can? Is there a way to return to those simpler times?

Talking with a colleague of mine a few months back, he was shocked that it can take me upwards of 2 hours to smoke a cigar, and that I’ll sometimes sit with a friend sipping a coffee or a scotch for hours on end. It has slowly dawned on me that the demise of these manly traditions is largely to blame on our new-found servitude to the clock - the constant desire to shave 3 minutes off our commute, to get 15 minutes more sleep, to optimize our daily routines. The cigar becomes the cigarette. The trolley becomes the high-speed train. The restaurant becomes the drive-in. The straight blade becomes the disposable razor.

I suppose it is all with reasonable intent. We’re being thrifty with our time so we can spend more doing the things we really want. Is this really happening though? Is watching more TV really what made you speed 20 mph over the limit on your way home from work? Because according to A.C. Nielsen Co. the average American still spends 4 hours a day glued to their TVs. You’re probably thinking “I don’t watch TV,” but how long have you been mindlessly browsing the internet before stumbling across this post?

In the pursuit of finding more time to do the things we really want to do, we have actually done the opposite, discarding those activities which are truly meaningful. This is why I founded The Aspiring Gentleman, and is likely why you’re reading this. I’m searching to reinstate these manly rituals into my life and recapture a long forgotten bliss. I want to learn how to take the long road home, to force myself to relax with a cigar, to chat for hours with a peer over a fine scotch. I want to be my clock’s master instead of its slave, to enjoy more moments of substance. These are the reasons I chronicle my pursuit towards gentlemanliness.

[JCK]

A mighty fine movement/cause you're pushing for. I agree whole heartedly. I tihnk a contributing factor is there were less immediately available distractions 50 years ago.

[Grammaton]

Originally Posted by AspiringGent

You’re probably thinking “I don’t watch TV,” but how long have you been mindlessly browsing the internet before stumbling across this post?

I actually stumbled across your blog a couple of days ago... After buying my first bottle of The Balvenie. Good stuff, on your blog and in the bottle.

[Frinkiac7]

Pretty much everything we do these days is a travesty and affront to age-old traditions.
Technology, work-a-day-ism, rat racing...etc.

Many people like to be nostalgic about a simpler time...usually for split second while they're rushing off to their next unnecessary appointment. Taking the time to enjoy cigars and other simple pleasures in life is important for those of us who wish to preserve an element of the good old days, as well as our own sanity in this crazy world.

[AspiringGent]

Originally Posted by Grammaton

I actually stumbled across your blog a couple of days ago... After buying my first bottle of The Balvenie. Good stuff, on your blog and in the bottle.

Thanks! Balvenie does make some good whiskies. Definitely a decent first choice.

I'm happy to be a part of the Puff online community, surrounded by like-minded individuals who value the worth of taking the time to indulge in a cigar.

[Wolf4Fun]

I understand what you mean. Caught up in the race too often.
One reason I fing cigar's so enjoyable is the experience simply needs to be savored. Rushing it is simply a waste.

[Bluegrass]

GREAT post!!! I've been thinking a lot about this also. I'm always rushing.....at work, at home, seems I never have time to get things done.
Great blog also...it's bookmarked!!

[Depa]

I was thinking about this not too long ago when I was musing about why social clubs seem to have lost popularity in recent years.

What I decided is that people are getting lazier. Nothing else has changed since the 1940s, if anything we have more free time than ever. When we find ourselves rushing everywhere it usually is due to oversleeping, procrastination or apathy.

This kind of laziness as not present back in the old timey times. The existence of technology that enables the laziness is the problem. Rapidly prepared foods, television, modern automobiles, ect. all allow us to rush everything at the very last moment, and people abuse that. Then they look back and notice they are always rushing everywhere and fail to see the connection.

[AspiringGent]

Originally Posted by Depa

I was thinking about this not too long ago when I was musing about why social clubs seem to have lost popularity in recent years.

What I decided is that people are getting lazier. Nothing else has changed since the 1940s, if anything we have more free time than ever. When we find ourselves rushing everywhere it usually is due to oversleeping, procrastination or apathy.

This kind of laziness as not present back in the old timey times. The existence of technology that enables the laziness is the problem. Rapidly prepared foods, television, modern automobiles, ect. all allow us to rush everything at the very last moment, and people abuse that. Then they look back and notice they are always rushing everywhere and fail to see the connection.

I agree totally. I think we're hard-wired to find satisfaction in the fruits of our labor. With technology giving us huge gains from little effort, that satisfaction isn't present, so we look for it in other ways.

[5point0]

I have not been smoking cigars long.....but I am really grasping the ideas of a time gone by...you must take your time with a stick because to hurry is to ruin the experience and the cigar.
I am one that is always in a hurry except when I am sparking up a stick (no favs yet, they are all pretty good).....I am only able to smoke 1-2 a week mostly on the weekends, but I savor them and while I am enjoing one smoke, my mind will wander to what the enxt one might bring....sitting out by the pool....although, now its getting a little chillier....

Great post and thank you for making me look inside to discover what I really like about this hobbsession

Lastly.......I do not know and might not believe that all cigar sites are this great......welcoming.....and well a lot of fun

[Rubix^3]

hmmm. The lost art of enjoyment. So true...

[Frinkiac7]

Originally Posted by Depa

Nothing else has changed since the 1940s

Whoooo man, do I ever have to disagree with you on that one!

[Depa]

Originally Posted by Frinkiac7

Whoooo man, do I ever have to disagree with you on that one!

I was referring to the way people's days are structured, we work from morning to the mid afternoon and leisure time on the weekends.

I admit, that was structured poorly, but the point I made makes sense, right?

[Cigary]

Great thread here and one I will start reading now that I know about it,,,,The Aspiring Gentleman,,great title. I am one of those people who long to sit back and look forward to smoking a 2 hour cigar which is why most of my cigars are Churchills,,,,to force me to slow down and take my time.

Life has become such a hurried process to fit in more in less time which really is the wrong way to look at life. A hurried life is a miserable life because you rush through things that once used to be simple and now take on a hurry and go lifestyle. I retired at 42 and am 55 now and have had to relearn how to relax from a hurried life that was about getting things done quickly and efficiently without wasting time and that meant always being in a hurry and being anxious and stressed.

I wrote a couple of days ago on another post how smoking cigars has actually benefited my life over all because it makes me less anxious and makes me relax and there isn't a drug out there which makes my life feel this good. I add 3 ounces of Drambuie to my ritual and its like a great calm comes over me. I will be reading this blog everyday to help me tune my mind and body into relaxing.

[RobustBrad]

Honestly, If it was not for all you posting about your cigar experiences I would not be nearly as educated as I am now.

Since I only have one friend that is an actual cigar smoker and he lives about 3,000 miles away now the only chance I have to talk about my passion on these forums and to new people I meet locally.

Cheers to all you that contribute.

Brad