By Floris Heijdenrijk

I would by no means say that I am a cigar specialist, but once in a while I do like a good stoogie. I try and experiment with new cigars from different countries, wrappers, binders, flavours, etc and so I have been looking after the Scenic Cellars cigar cabinet for the past 7 years now.

Most of us remember the good old days when Grandpa or Dad would light up a cigar on Sundays and the whole house or back porch would be filled with the wonderful smell of cigar smoke. It seems that these times are returning. Over the past 5 years, smoking in general has reduced significantly in New Zealand, however, have noticed an increase in the sale of cigars. Even though many of us have stopped smoking cigarettes, we still enjoy a cigar on special occasions; births, birthdays, weddings, and the legendary poker nights.

People come into the store on an almost daily basis with requests such as: "I don't smoke, so just a cheapie will do," or "I am an inexperienced smoker so those good cigars are wasted on me." Now this is where a lot of people go wrong. If you are an inexperienced cigar smoker and buy the cheapest cigar you can find, you will most likely wake up the morning after with the normal hangover AND the added bonus of a cigar headache with a mouth that tastes like you have been chewing an ashtray all night. You won't ever try it again.

I always recommend that customers do themselves a favour and buy a good quality cigar. Not only will they enjoy smoking it and finish the cigar, but there will also be no nasty side effects the following day. Customers have appreciated this advice, and returned several times, turning into true aficionados.

But don't get me wrong, by ‘good quality cigar' I do not necessarily mean an expensive one, rather one that has been well made and looked after. When you purchase a cigar, always make sure that it has been stored in a proper humidor. If you have ever tried to smoke a bone dry or wet cigar you will know what I mean. Cigars need care during production. Hand- rolled cigars are the best. Cigars also need a lot of time to mature and dry as it takes years from the moment of picking the leaves to the finished product.

The tasting notes of a fine cigar could be mistaken for those of a good wine, and in a lot of ways they are similar. For example, Cigar Aficionado wrote the following about the Cohiba Siglo 3: "An attractive, oily cigar with model construction. The burn and draw are even and the smoke communicates profound notes of leather, cocoa and cedar that culminate to a sweet and spicy finish. Very sophisticated. 92/100." You almost want to eat or drink it.

Let me know if you are looking for something special.

Floris Heijdenrijk (floris@sceniccellars.co.nz) 
Sales Manager
Scenic Cellars