Good evening Cigar Asylum! I'm pleased to inform you that I am approaching my one year anniversary for smoking cigars. It feels like just yesterday that I was puffing on that first Nica Libre. I know, I know, for you seasoned cigar veterans with years of experience, this may not seem like quite a commendable achievement, but hey, you gotta start somewhere :-). Plus, I think it is safe to safe that I pretty well informed about the world of cigars compared to the average 19 year old. I have a lot more to learn, and MANY, MANY more cigars to still smoke, but I just wanted to say thank you to all the suggestions, tips, and advice you've all given me for the short time I've been a member of this forum :-). I look forward to many more years of awesome and enjoyable cigars!

Here's some improvement I've made over the past year for your viewing pleasure:

From humble beginnings (yes, those are Gurkha's you see :-)):
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To significant improvement (about 100 quality smokes now), but still a ways to go:
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Congrats on the year. It goes by so fast. Have you seen your pallet developing???
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Congratulations.
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Congrats! They always say the first year is the hardest :-) LoL
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I was just talking to my roommate about that actually (we smoke cigars about every other night, now). Not only can I pick up different flavors that I never noticed, but my palette has completely changed. I've gone from light-medium bodied to more full bodied smokes (Man O War Armada/Puro Authentico, anything Fuente/Opus X, any Padron maduros, Alec Bradley Prensado, and La Aurora Preferidos Maduro rank in my top smokes). I tried a Nica Libre for the hell of it the other night, and I didn't even want to finish it!
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Nice job and congrats!!! What does year two have in store?
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Glad to know I'm not the only sub-20 year old inmate :-)

I love everything about this hobby, it's relaxing and just...great. Everyones nice!

Congrats on a year, Rob!
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I think I'm going to reward myself with a Padron 1964 Maduro on friday for finishing up finals :-) I just finished up an Arturo Fuente Hemingway about 15 minutes ago...took the ash right down to the band! So far, year two is looking great!
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Thank you! It's brought me and my friends really close together. Nothing beats smoking and celebrating another week down at the Academy with a good cigar :-)
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and walllet shrinking? :-)

congrats dude. I also started around 18. I stopped about two years later and have recently started back up again. It's funny to look back at some of my old reviews and photos and think about my perspective now. Good keepin track!
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I'm surprised the academy allows contraband.....the Naval academy would never allow cigar smoking on station, let alone cigars kept in a barracks room.
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Congrats...here's the many more!! :-)
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My company officer wasn't too thrilled at first when he discovered a humidor in my room during one of his inspections. I routed a special request form through my chain of command.... and he let me keep it in the end :-) I guess the Academy acknowledges that a good cigar is great way to build morale and esprit de corps!
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Here's to many more years!!!:-)
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Hey Robert,

In all honesty it doesn't look like CI gave you such a "Raw Deal".
I bought that same Blue Ribbon Starter Humidor w/ cigars from
them 3 years ago (at the end of this month!). Dude I had RP 1990's
La Harencia Cubana's, Gurkha 1666 and DGP Black robusto's in mine!

All it took was 4-5 mo's hanging out on the forums before I was ruined!:-)

Congrats on your first year Brotha!
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Congrats! My first year I went from 75 smokes to around 1000. Slippery slope indeed!
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