Cigar Moments: What Makes A Cigar Special

This is a Fish Story. Not about the one that got away, but rather about a lesson learned while fishing - a lesson about what makes a cigar special.

During the month of August, in a quaint resort town along the pristine blue waters of Lake Michigan, a group of five die hard salmon fishermen (a.k.a. five cigar smoking fools) were on board the 28th Thompson appropriately named "Cigar Fox".

In preparation for a week's worth week of day fishing, the Cigar Fox was loaded with more than 500 of the most popular artificial baits, almost as many bottles of beer, one box of Punch Rare Corojos and an assortment of other fine cigars.

On Monday morning, the first of the week's fishing excursions commenced. The fishermen found themselves approximately five miles south of the Port of Pentwater in 160 feet of water at 5:30 am trolling for the elusive Chinook salmon of Lake Michigan.

As the sun raised its lazy head over the top of the sand dunes to the east, all were enjoying the first of the week's gifts - a stunning sunrise in a cloudless sky that went through every color of the rainbow as it brought daylight to yet another day.

Each fisherman lit their first cigar of the trip in recognition of the splendid sunrise. For some unknown reason, all chose to partake in a Punch Rare Corojo. As the first waft of smoke drifted across the stern of the Cigar Fox, a second gift was presented - then a and third, and fourth, and fifth - coming only moments apart!

No, these weren't cigar gifts, but rather four Abu Garcia Fishing Reels screaming as four Chinook salmon simultaneously hit four of eight rods that were filled with 25 lb test line and were being trolled at 2.1 miles per hour. It was FISH ON as everyone grabbed a rod and began fighting their fish.

After almost forty minutes of pure chaos with anglers dipping below one another to uncross lines, each 20 pound plus fish was netted and slid into the fish box. Then, there was once again peace on board.

As the lines were reset, the high fiving and bantering about the battle with four fish at one time subsided. The comments then started about how good the Punch Rare Corojos tasted. It was only 6:40 am and the first four fish were in the boat; and the first five cigars were smoked.

As the day progressed, the fishermen continually smoked celebratory cigars and imbibed in refreshments every time another fish was landed. It was a day of nonstop action with the weather, the fishing, the company, the libations - and of course, the cigars all adding to the ambiance that only can happen once in a lifetime. By 5:30 p.m., the Cigar Fox was headed to shore with a limit catch of 25 King salmon, five ecstatic fishermen, an almost empty cooler, but sadly no Punch Rare Corojos left!

That evening, as the day's earlier events were recounted, the discussion returned to the celebratory cigars. All five fishermen were overwhelmed by the quality and taste of the Punch Rare Corojos. So much so, a collective decision was made to ask a sixth friend to bring three more boxes when he arrived on Tuesday afternoon!

Well, as a turn of luck would have it, Tuesday morning dawned with a completely less appealing picture. The previously pristine flat blue water of Lake Michigan was now a charcoal grey, covered with menacing clouds and three to five feet rolling waves. Still, the Cigar Fox broke the pier heads at 5:15 a.m. with lines set before 6:00 am. Unfortunately, though, there was no beautiful sunrise this morning, no fish in the box and no celebratory cigars to smoke. At 10:00 a.m., Captain Jim said enough of this rough water and instructed his crew to pull lines.

By the time the fishermen's sixth friend arrived on Tuesday afternoon, the boat was re-stocked with beer and ice for the next morning. And since the sixth friend had replenished the cigar inventory, the fishermen now had enough Punch Rare Corojos to make it through a full day of fishing. On Wednesday morning, the Cigar Fox was quickly moving through Pentwater Lake on the way to Lake Michigan. The boat was filled with beer, cigars and six fishermen filled with the anticipation of repeating Monday's performance!

Captain Jim was at the throttle in the pre-dawn darkness when he unfortunately found out that the local Sheriff didn't like to sleep late in the morning! That's right, the day started with the flashing blue light coming out of nowhere and pulling up alongside to issue a ticket for a no wake violation!

Well, as any good salmon fisherman knows, the best bite is in the morning as the sun peeks its lazy head over the horizon. With the unexpected delay, there was no time to waste in covering the distance from Pentwater Port to the sand dunes off Crystal Lake five miles to the south. Captain Jim had the engine screaming as he made up for the lost time.

Arriving at Monday's precious fishing grounds, the lines were set and trolling commenced. The sun showed up on time and anticipation was mounting for the fun to begin.

The six fishermen waited and waited. Finally at 7:30 am, after trolling for almost two hours without a hit, one fisherman announced that it was 12:00 o'clock somewhere and cracked open a cold beer and lit up the days first Rare Corojo! Barely did the torch lighter hit the end of the premium cigar when the 9 foot pole on the port side started to bounce like a bucking bronco!

As one eager fisherman grabbed the pole, the line screamed from the reel as the salmon dove for cover in the deep blue water of Lake Michigan. While overseeing the fish fight, the rest of the crew agreed that the ice had been broken upon lighting of that first cigar. Almost immediately, everyone decided to light up a cigar! Almost to the second of the last cigar being lit, all heck broke loose as three fish hit simultaneously!

Now once again, it was pandemonium with four fish on at the same time. Again, fishermen with Punch Rare Corojos clenched between their teeth, dipped below one another to keep the lines from becoming crossed as they laughed and celebrated. After approximately 35 minutes, the last of the four fish was bought to net and placed in the fish box onboard. Again the conversation turned to the fact that the fish all hit when the crew had lit their cigars!

The fishing was not as good on Wednesday as it had been on Monday with only 17 salmon filling the fish coolers on board. What was as good however, were the Punch Rare Corojos. With six fishermen on board smoking, drinking, and fishing, fast work was made again of a full box of these fine cigars!

That night as once again the card playing and storytelling began, talk about the Punch Rare Corojos evolved. What was it about these magical cigars? Why were they so good? Was it the company? Was it the beer? How did the fish know when we were lighting up, and why did they start biting on cue?

Wednesday night after dinner, the group's lead cigar aficionado gave the lesson on the Rare Corojos. First, he explained that the Punch Rare Corojo is the most popular Punch line extension. Only released once a year, the Rare Corojo is always at the top of the ratings, and the blend keeps getting better year after year.

The cigar starts with a red and rough looking Colorado shade wrapper that conceals a complex blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan long fillers. The result is a robust full bodied cigar that is exceptionally full flavored.

One of the most notable characteristics of the Rare Corojo is how well it ages. While these cigars are great right out of the box, an additional one to two years of aging takes the Rare Corojo to a whole new level. The Rare Corojos the fishermen were smoking were aged two years.

In regards to construction, it is a beautiful dark reddish boxed press cigar. The Punch box pressed design feels absolutely great in one's hands. Wrapper wise it is perfectly wrapped, not too night and not loose in the least. The wrapper stays together perfectly while at sea.

The draw on the cigar is perfect and the right amount of smoke comes through when clenching it between teeth while fighting a fish, the draw will not overpower, but the fish might! The burn is just right as the ash even stays on for about 30 minutes or just long enough to land a King salmon. The moment the cigar is lit, immediately sensed is the spicy wrapper.

Of course, the real reason the cigar was enjoyed so much by the fishermen is that when smoking any cigar, there is a great deal of complexity to the experience. There is the ambiance, the company, the mood, the libations, the food, and the degree of relaxation one is experiencing. All these are combined to create "Cigar Moments".

A Cigar Moment is best described as an occasion where one can thoroughly enjoy a cigar so much so that the cigar's name is remembered, along with the people, the setting, details of the conversation, the time, the date and place, and the overwhelming
"good feeling" that is encompassed. This is a "Cigar Moment". They do not come all the time, perhaps only a dozen times in a lifetime; but when they occur, one knows it and remembers it forever.

If you experience one of these moments, be cautioned not to try to recreate it. It just won't work. The Cigar Moment comes when least expected and lasts a lifetime in your mind. The Rare Corojos the fishermen enjoyed were just part of what has made the fishing trip special!

With the dissertation on Rare Corojos out of the way, the Euchre Tournament began and it was the wee hours of the morning before the last cigar was smoked and the lights went out. When the alarm went off at 4:30 a.m., it was accompanied with a howling wind and the sound of heavy rain. While the Cigar Smoking Fishing Fools were anxious to hit the water, they were equally appreciative of a good excuse not to have to get up out of their warm and cozy beds on Pentwater Lake.

Unfortunately, the opportunity to fish again and enjoy the last of the Rare Corojos came to an end as the weather forecast for the next three days called for gale force winds and 15 unfishable seas on Lake Michigan. There would be no recreating that Cigar Moment on this trip.

As the fishermen packed up and loaded their gear, the group's leading cigar aficionado noticed that the remaining box of Rare Corojos that were on the table by the door were slowly disappearing with each trip to the cars. As the cabin was locked, the aficionado took with him the empty box filled with memories.

Over the next few weeks, all six fishermen purchased a box of Punch Rare Corojos. Over the next few months it was interesting that each commented that the box of Punch Rare Corojos after the fishing trip just weren't as good as the ones on the trip.

Of course, the premium cigars themselves were of equally good quality. The difference was that the right combination of elements was not present as they enjoyed their Rare Corojos. Sure, they were excellent cigars, but they by themselves could not create a "Cigar Moment". The moral of the story is "Live Large, Fish Often, Love Like there is No Tomorrow, and Only Smoke Good Cigars!"

Seed Newsvine

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