Tech and Cigars and Pipes

     As many new cigars and pipe tobaccos hit the market, how great is it to just fire up the computer, tablet or smart phone and read reviews, read about the manufacturing of said cigars and pipe tobaccos.  Of course it hasn't always been that way, research was a bit more tedious, more expensive and a bit more, social.   I understand that we live in a world where the abolishment of a legal product is non-stop, and you don't have as many places to discuss the products we love, that has not changed.  I also understand that if you "stand still", you'll get left behind, so to me tech has some benefits and some drawbacks. 

     From where I sit (pontificating about technology as I complete a "blog"), tech allows us to have a much larger reach to information available about our passion of cigars, pipes and pipe tobacco.  Manufacturers introduce a new product with a Tweet, IG, FB post, Snapchat, annoying ass Pop-up ad, etc., and we get instant knowledge of something we may want to try.  Subsequently, as that product is introduced and we take it in via social media, we now also have the ability to research, said product at the very same time.  "New cigar with a wrapper from San Andres", we go right to a search engine of our Smartphone, Tablet or Laptop and research that area where the wrapper was cultivated and are instantly better informed.  In the summer of 2014 as the release of CAO's Amazon Basin was happening, some of the dumbest folks I know, all of a sudden knew more about the Amazon than they ever imagined they would need to know (except one dummy who thought Amazon the company was now in the cigar business, he still has a flip phone).  Then we go to the "authorities" such as Halfwheel, The Stogie Review, Cigar Inspector etc., to see what they all have to say.  A nice avenue to gather knowledge about something we may want to try. 

     Back in the day, the source(s) of this kind of information was your local B&M, a print ad or catalog and if your were lucky, the B&M owner would give you access to their product guide from the manufacturers.  Other than that, it was all pretty much word of mouth.  In the late 80's, early 90's Cigar Aficionado burst on the scene, to be followed by Smoke and a couple of other periodicals and the game was changed forever.  I was a Air Force recruiter in Jackson, Mississippi and a young man from Milsaps College walked in my office with a CA tucked under his arm, wanting information about becoming a pilot.  As we talked and he laid the magazine down on my desk, I asked to browse through it, and I knew then, my cigar life was heading in a new direction.   I could never figure out why he brought the magazine with him, after all he drove to my office.  Maybe he wanted me to know he knew about cigars or maybe he was one of the "victims" of the cigar boom of the 90's.  Shortly thereafter I was on the subscription list, and was just wowed by the information I was now able to pick up from the local newsstand or bookstore.  The internet was still a new thing and the search engine I used was called "Web Crawler", and the results for cigar related information was not the treasure trove it is now.

     After my initial introduction to cigars in 1984, my "internet" was the Air Force General who introduced me to cigar enjoyment.  He was so full of information, it boggled my mind.  He would start talking about a cigar and before you knew it, he would spit out the reason the wrapper taste this way and why this cigar wasn't available in this part of the world, etc, etc.  Which brings me to my next point, how technology has made the availability of cigars "as easy as pie" (what the hell does that mean?).  Anyway, I was introduced to cigars while living in Europe and the Exchange on base had a very nice selection, but the B&M's in Germany were like heaven, they had everything, and yes Cubans.   By the time I arrived back to the States, there were still an abundance of B&M's, but for whatever reason, most of them had the exact same facings in their humidors and you were guaranteed to pay whatever price they offered, or you didn't get that product, it was a geographical thing.  Then I was introduced to the "Cigar Catalog King", JR Cigars.  JR made what I thought was a brilliant move, they not only advertised their mail order cigars, they included brief descriptions of said cigars and what started out as an opening editorial, turned to be several short stories throughout he catalog.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on that catalog every month and take it in to the B&M and discuss what I was going to buy that the B&M didn't offer.  Back then, I did a lot of "box splitting" with others who wanted to try something.  Then in 1999 or 2000, as the internet became a little more prevalent, as I perused the JR website, I did a search for "cigars online" and the first thing to pop up was www.cigarbid.com, aka "The Devil"!  I could not believe it, I see a cigar I like, I place a bid for it, if my bid was good enough, I won, and they'd send me the cigars, and I could even bid on a 5-Pack?  Damn it, take my money now, and they still are! 

    We all know what happened after that, www.famoussmokeshop.com www.cigar.com and many others (btw, I have no stakes in any of the companies I mention).   So now, I don't even have to go to the B&M anymore, I can have the world come to my front door and enjoy my home the way it was meant to be.  Well, not quite, as its just something about that B&M that I can't get from technology.  The "cigarmanship", the actually picking up the pipe and seeing how it feels in my hand, the aroma of so many cigars being enjoyed, even the words of the "village idiot" is a part of the experience that technology doesn't offer.  Recently, I found myself leaning on the counter at my local B&M, and instantly thought of one of my grandfathers who would lean when he was at his B&M back in the day.  I smiled to myself and put my smartphone in my pocket, then continued my conversation with the shop owner.  Ahhhh, technology.

     Until next time, Long ashes.  (_____G_________]]]]]]]~~~~   CLP  (Clip, Light and Puff)

Gregory