John Georgantopoulos - Vicente Blends

My cigar Education

Looking back to 1992, while visiting my uncle, I discovered he was a cigar smoker. One cigar every evening after dinner. He put on his smoker’s jacket, would get himself a cognac, sit in his favorite chair, and light up his cigar with a wooden match. My aunt said that this was his time and she went off to another room to do her needlepoint.

At the time, I was a cigarette smoker, and I would join my uncle in his smoke-filled room, try the occasional cigar, but never did really enjoy them. I soon discovered why.

On this first occasion with my uncle, I asked him if I could light up a cigarette. He said, “Sure, go outside and smoke all the smelly cigarettes you want.” My uncle is always one to tell it as it is. A man who insisted on things to be as he desired, always. He spent his life working in some of the finest restaurants in Montreal, Canada. Good food, good drinks, and quality cigars.

As much as I didn’t smoke them, my job at that time had me travelling to other countries and I found myself looking for cigars for him as a gift. Not having much knowledge of the brands and their quality, I would speak to the merchants about getting a decent cigar as a gift for my uncle. This gave me the bigging of my education about cigars and how to treat them. My uncle taught me through his actions the importance of caring for a cigar before and after it’s lit.

Quitting Cigarettes

In 1998, I gave up smoking cigarettes and didn’t smoke anything again until I had my first fine cigar with my uncle in 2001. I found the taste of the cigar most enjoyable. The first thing I learned was not to inhale, but simply roll the smoke through my mouth and exhale the smoke. It was the first time that I actually enjoyed smoking without feeling the need to satisfy a craving, like with cigarettes.

Intro to Humidors

I found myself wanting to enjoy a good cigar on occasion and started to not only buy cigars for my uncle when travelling, but I also started to collect them myself. As I did, I learned more about how to take care of my cigars before I would smoke them and that’s how I became the owner of my first humidor.

The humidor is not only important for storage, but for curing the cigars. Cigars cure in humidors made of Spanish cedar, whether the entire humidor or the trays the cigars are placed onto. Of course, you must also know the correct humidity level required for cigars from different regions of the world.

Learning how to look after your cigar as you smoke it and the environment is very important. I now understand that my uncle’s eccentricities were just proof that he knows how to enjoy a good cigar.

Cigar quality is key

Yes, smoking a well-cured and aged cigar is a real pleasure for me. Finding a well-ventilated location with very little wind is very important for the ultimate cigar-smoking experience.

As most things, cigars from different regions of the world differ in quality. Not all cigars are made the same. I definitely will stay away from any machine-rolled cigar. If they’re not made by hand, chances are they will not be of quality tobacco.

Caring for your cigar collection

Let’s start at the beginning. When your new humidor arrives home, you want to get started right away with keeping the cigars safe and curing and aging correctly. Before placing cigars in that new humidor, you need to shock it first.

We do this by rubbing the inside with a damp cloth of distilled water. Using distilled water ensures there are no minerals, natural impurities, or chlorine additives. After you’ve rubbed it down and closed the lid, the hygrometer should reach at least 85% humidity and should maintain that for three days…while you are anxiously waiting to get those cigars into the humidor.

That was a long three days! Now, we are ready to introduce the cigars. The humidor does not automatically regulate itself. If you are depending on the sponge method with distilled water, you will need to check it every two or three days to maintain optimum humidity and ensure your cigars are cared for properly. This is especially important for us in the northern part of the Americas, where we have changing seasons and use a heating system in our homes.

Good news for us travelers who cannot always be at home babysitting our cigars: there are plenty of options to help maintain humidor humidity with less work. But, do yourself a favor, don’t trust the system blindly. Check-up on it regularly to ensure your cigars are properly cared for.

Become your own aficionado

We did it! We waited for our cigars to age and cure in our humidor. To reward our patience, we get to smoke a nice cigar. Grab your favorite alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink. Take that cigar from the humidor, and “voila”. Like you would with a nice glass of wine, smell it and take in the aroma. Give the cigar a little squeeze; if its firm, but not dry you should feel it return to its original shape.

Grab your cigar cutter or cigar punch, if so desired. The cutter should be two-sided; avoid single-sided cutters because they sometimes tear the cigar. If it’s a capped cigar, only cut off a little slice; you don’t want to cut too much and have the cigar wrapper start unraveling as you smoke. If it’s a rounded capped cigar, I like to place the open cutter on a flat table to get the perfect cut. A torpedo style cigar should always be cut at a slight angle.

When you have your cigar cut, drink ready, and are sitting in your favorite chair, you’re ready to light that cigar. Use wooden matches or a butane lighter to avoid altering the flavor. Before you put the cigar in your mouth, warm it up from the center to the outer edge to ensure a more evenly lit cigar. The cigar is constructed with a burner leaf down the center and we want the outer part of the cigar to have the opportunity to be ready to burn for an even-burning cigar.

Now, take the first puff. “Aahhhh, it’s so good.” Remember, no constant puffing or the burner leaf will accelerate faster than the outer flavor leaves surrounding it. Let the cigar relax for about 30 to 45 seconds between puffs and look and taste better. Enjoy.