It was a group effort. The most important person was The Professor due to his constant shoves in that general direction. Shortly before I joined that other site, we were drinking and smoking on my deck. He hands me a 98 RS12 and says, what do you think? Yeah, shortly after I joined CS, only to be shoved very hard down the slope by other people. First old cigars: icehog3 gave me a 70s Party 898UV and zemekone gave me an 85 RyJ Churchill. After smoking those last two I didn't so much slide as free fall.
[Reply]

It took a few folks to get me on the slope. In this order:

Dad - Dad's been a cigar smoker since I was a kid. He started gifting me the occasional stick ever since I turned 18.
Friends/neighbors - Talking cigars a little with these folks, and having the occasional stick with them. Then I took the plunge and walked into a B&M...
Mikey Burr - Didn't even know he was a gorilla. He worked in the B&M I walked into and he asked me, "how can I help you?". He set me up with my first purchase and steered me in the right direction.
NCRadioMan - I found CS, posted a little, and he sent me a PM asking for my address :-)
Darrell - Found we live in the same hood. Invited me to my first herf, has gifted/bombed me 30+ sticks, gave me a 100 stick humi, gave me a briar pipe :-)

I have no hope of ever recovering now. I have a cooler, I'm ordering beads for it next week along with my first ever box purchase. I've got one foot on the pipe slope too.

There's a black hole at the bottom of this slope, I tell ya.
[Reply]

:-) but Bao has helped me a little bit as well.
[Reply]

After several years of smoking convenience store-grade favorites such as flavoried Phillies, Black-n-Mild, etc....it hit me in 2005 in Rome, while standing in front of the Colosseium at the Roman Forum and enjoying my first real cigar...a Monty #2 that nearly knocked me on my ass on a warm sunny day. It was at that moment I felt the call...and it was good. :-)
[Reply]

Pistol let me smoke my first.
Erratum gave me my first.
Major slope pushers have been Blueface and Croatan with some help from TTours, BeagleOne, rack04 and newcigarz.
[Reply]

BudPrince is the man responsible for my outlaw ways. Beware! :-)
[Reply]

Well :-) ... it was largely YOU, focker. :-) :-)

j6ppc, madurofan, and hollywood all got me my toboggan. :-)

JoeD gave me an 80s RyJ Corona that changed my life (seriously).

chibnkr taught me some important lessons about vintage pedestrians. :-)

icehog3 got me to appreciate bigger smokes. :-)

Da Klugs taught me that it's okay to covet :-)

allanb ... well ... um ... he "taught me a lesson" or two. :-)


I SALUTE YOU ALL! :-)
[Reply]

my father gave me the savoy kit including a flask, 3 finger case, and a cutter for christmas last year. the-finger had two AF hemingways in it. i bought my first 20ct humi later that night, and all has gone to sell since

oh ya, those damn massholes, especially the one referred to as "vin"

stearns
[Reply]

Almost 2 years ago to the date Iwas in CT, visiting family and I rambled offf to go smallmouth fishing on Squantz Pond.

Upon my arrival I caught wiff of a gentleman's cigar from abot 50 yards away. As I approached him, on the way to my honey-hole, I commented how I like the smell.

For the next 15 minutes he taught me everything he could and used every cigar term in the world (of which I knew nothing) and then at the end of his heartfelt sharing he gave me a cigar he had saved for the past 7 or so years, or however long it was. Either way, it was tasty!!

I 'll never forget that coincidental meeting. It opened the world of cigars up to me.

Thank you sir. I hope to honor your selfless efforts that day by paying it forward many times over in the years to come!!




-
[Reply]

Smokinj pushed me over the slope and now Shilala jumped on the sled and its picking up speed fast:-):-):-)
[Reply]

first cigar: shared a CC RyJ with my best friend on his wedding day (friend didnt normally smoke, but his dad brought them).

First part of the slide I did to myself. My dad smoked 10 years ago. Found my dad's old humi, forgotten and dried up. salvaged some sticks, gave/threw away the rest. Figured I would give it a try.

Found CBID, started buying a few singles here and there to try while replenishing the humidor.

I didnt really know anyone else that smoked cigars... and then I found you guys a few months ago... and it all went downhill from there... WAY downhill!

Herfed at Vin's last month. Didn't have a clue as to the kind of people I was messing with. I was truly humbled by the guys who would walk up to a guy they didnt even know and hand him good cigar. You guys set a great example that I hope to follow in giving back.

Bombed by vin a few weeks later.

so I'd say Vin, the massholes, and every other bastage on this site are responsibile!
[Reply]

I started my slide as a solo adventure. I was offered a black & mild in Iraq toward the end of 2004 and I smoked it. Found I enjoyed smoking, which was news to me cause I was very against anything tobacco at that time. So anyway, I went home and tried a few real cigars purchased up in Canada and I liked them even more. I tried an Onyx Reserve and I was hooked. I tried a few random sticks over the next year. Then my brother bought me (no laughing please) a Thompson's Cigars sampler. I smoked them all and loved every minute of it. I still had no idea about what it takes to actually take care of cigars and how deep the hobby goes. I stayed on my own with the smoking for a while, with the occasional buddy popping in for a smoke, JohnnyKay5 probably being the most frequent. He was just as stupid as me at the time though. Then I came to back to Iraq (where this whole saga begins) and John had linked in with tobii at their FOB in Iraq. Tobii introduced John to CS, John introduced me to CS, and then my slip down the slope began in earnest. Guys like tobii, Don F, Smokey, JohnnyKay5, Conch Republic, etc have really helped open my eyes to just how good (and freaken expensive) cigars can be.
[Reply]

My father gave me the first nudge then the final kick in the arse was my work. I work with cigarette and tobacco vendors and started learning about the products... then off it went.
[Reply]

Four main culprits:
1. Bobarian - 48 Qt. Cooler/Digital Hydrometer/countless cigars including the darkside
2. My wife (cigarwife) - first desktop/countless cigars/pushing everyday
3. Ratters - herfing opportunities/countless cigars/Camacho pusher
4. Tzaddi - countless cigars/cultivation of leaves

And the rest of the BABOTL and every last one of you people!!!:-)
[Reply]

Well, I guess in a way it was my wife. She bought me a sampler from CI a few years ago. I enjoyed them and once I quit smoking cigarettes I started having one or so a month. Then CoroHo introduced me to CB... the pace of slippage increased. Then I found CS and read LasciviousXXX's Habanos for Beginners. Since then, the scenery going by is just a blur!!!
[Reply]

For NC's it would have been my older brother.

For CC's it would have been some very generous BOTL's at MMHI at a PPP. Got a chnace to taste some amazing smokes and really see what aging can do to a cigar.
[Reply]

MoTheMan nuked me out of the blue with a broad spectrum 20 cigar 10 brand attack and it was all over. Shock and awe. There was no slope just freefall. Fell with the 05 pledge class and there was much fun along the decent with a few FOG's chiming it to stab the wounded along the way.
[Reply]

Well lets see...

Shaggy and Old Sailor hit me with my first few cc's and some good ones at that. Then Ssutton started pushing me with some late 90's early 00's sticks. Then a cigar newb I went to the shack. There are so many people who taught me so many things. macms, ncradioman, and one lonely smoker showed me where to find cigars along with showing me what this whole thing is really about. Jbaily, the SC crew, they all brought variety to my pallate, pnoon showed me that there could be very mellow and complex smokes. Icehog taught me about depth and flavors I'll probably never experience again, Da Klugs shared what old and truely unique cigars could be.
[Reply]

I'm still sitting in my lounge chair on the edge, with an empty pocketbook in hand...
[Reply]

That is easy for me to describe who pushed me down the slope...My good friend Ray (spect) talked me into smoking cigars with him and then when I was just innocently looking over the cliff he pushed... but I got the last laugh since I grabbed him and took him down with me lol...

Then we both found the land of CCs together thanks to the FRHs and it was all over from there!

Now I don't fight it anymore lol... I just give in and buy all the wonderful smokes I want! :-)
[Reply]