Amir Saarony's Cigar Journals

Amir Saarony’s Cigar Journals

I have been honoured by Cuban House of Cigars to have me write a series of articles based on my experiences in the world of Cuban cigars and my love for Havana in general.  I will attempt to share my thoughts and feelings and I hope that some may find them entertaining and educational.

A little bit about myself, I have had the pleasure of being deeply involved in the genre of Cuban cigars for over 20 years.  I have made over 100 trips to Havana and have enjoyed, studied, collected, written about and lectured about cigars for many years. Cuba for me does not revolve around cigars.  It includes art, music, dining, time with friends, humanitarian causes, business and much more.  I will try to share the emotions and discoveries and hopefully you, the reader, will take something useful from my words.

When my book Partagás El Libro was published I did many media interviews.  One question that was repeatedly asked was, “What is the best cigar you ever smoked?” It is a simple question with a very complex answer.  It is assumed that, due to the fact that I have had the opportunity to smoke many rare cigars, I would respond with some unicorn that would cost a monthly mortgage payment to procure.  It is also a question I have never answered. For me it is an unanswerable question.  Any judgement of a cigar I make would be based on my tastes and references.  My palette may be more or less experienced than any other smoker but it is certainly not something that should be used by others as guidance.  We all have different tastes and we are all correct, at all times.  You may prefer Bordeaux while another swears by Burgundy, Shiraz, Merlot or any other wine.  What is best for one is not necessarily best for the other.  My grandmother’s apple pie had raisins in it, your favourite apple pie may have been spiced with cinnamon.  You understand what I am getting at.

So, the answer?  I would always rephrase the question.  I would relate a story about a memorable cigar smoking experience.  The impression created was not solely based on the cigar but on the other factors: was I alone or with others; where was I; what was my mood; and many other factors.  Cigar smoking is always a personal experience.  Two people smoking cigars together from the same box may be smoking cigars rolled by different rollers, on different days. Their personal experience will affect what they think about the cigar.  For one it could be the strongest they have ever experienced, tor the other it may be comparatively mild. Even a shared social experience is highly personal when it comes to cigar smoking.

Two of my most MEMORABLE cigar experiences, and these are not ranked.  One was in 2005. I was doing a tour of Europe and one of the stops was Stockholm.  I had never been to Scandinavia but what I was really looking forward to was visiting a friend whom I had known for years but only met on a few occasions in Havana.  This was a friend whom I respected for many reasons, one of which was his connoisseur-ship of the details in life that transform a normal day into an exemplary one.  Food, wine, tea, art, and of course, cigars.  After a great dinner filled with laughter and conversation he proclaimed, “it is time to smoke”.  The guests were presented with a robusto who’s wrapper was as smooth and silky as a pair of stockings on a dancer’s leg.  Claro wrapper, veinless and light in the hand.  Perfect draw and light complex flavours.  My first experience with a Dunhill Cabinetta.  I have tried many different Cuban Dunhills and Davidoffs but for me this was the most sublime of them all.  Combined with the company of the others at the table, the location, the excitement of the moment created one of my top 5 most memorable cigars to date.

Another of the top 5 most memorable cigars occurred a few years later in the outskirts of Havana.  Sitting on the front porch of a small single-story home.  Rehashing a decade of memories with a close friend, watching his young son, my honorary godson, climb in his lap as we prepare for a post lunch cigar.  Watching family whom I have been close to for a decade grow and change.  A quiet personal afternoon on the Saturday before the Habanos Festival, the busiest, most intense week in the world of Cuban cigars.  No bullshit, no pretense.  Just two old friends sharing a cigar, watching loved children play.  I was handed a Siglo VI sized cigar. Unbanded and unimposing.  No ceremonial lighting, casually chatting while lighting, not giving it a second thought.  And then, the first draw.  OK, Siglo VI was not in a heavy rotation of cigars at the time so I did not fully understand what I was smoking.  Maique and I usually wait until about half an inch into the cigar to discuss impressions.  By the time we reached that mark it was more than obvious I was smoking something I had not tasted before.  My attention was literally being pulled from the conversation to the cigar.  You see, this was February 2009 and the cigar we were smoking would not be shown to the world until the following week.  The cigar that, to this very day, I still consider the best Habanos S.A. has ever produced, the Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva Cosecha 2003.  Every time I see, touch or smoke one of these treasures I am instantly brought back to the sight of my brother from a different mother sitting on a rocking chair, young son in his lap, watching me smoke and smiling, knowing he is watching me smoke a cigar that would forever live on as one of my most memorable of all time.

These both happen to be rare and expensive cigars.  But truly memorable ones need not be.  It can be a RASS (Ramon Allones Specially Selected) you smoke by yourself after a hard day’s work, a Cohiba smoked to celebrate good news or any other cigar you smoke because you know you deserve those moments of bliss.