I'm back and today, let's talk about "the copycat". We all know one, he/she resides in every B&M, herf, group etc. That person who asks "what 'cha smokin...." then runs to the humidor to grab the exact same smoke and that's where the fun or irritation begins. Now don't get me wrong, when a person asks what I'm smoking and after I tell them, they get the same thing I'm normally honored that one has enough faith in my cigar game and trust my judgment, but typically that person is the one who now wants to either contradict everything I've said about the cigar or start making up some crazy shit about what they taste in the smoke, just to show their "expertise", to discount my thoughts.
Now as I often say, "your palate is your palate", and "you like what you like", so I don't expect you to find the same attributes in a smoke that I do. But now that person is saying stuff like this, "you think is a mild cigar, this thing is a power house" as they puff a Macanudo Cafe. What in the hell? Or, you might get, "so I've never really liked Viaje, but I just wanted to see if I was missing something, because you're always smoking them". From where I sit, those kind of folks just give me a headache, as "if you can't find something nice or constructive to say, STFU". I understand they're attempting to display their "knowledge", but at that very moment, the imbecile light just came on.
Sometimes it's better to just ask questions like, "tell me why you like this cigar, because I just don't get what you're talking about", or as far as what they don't like, I've NEVER heard a fellow cigar or pipe person say to another cigar or pipe person, "so tell me what smokes you don't like". The other thing the copycat likes to do is use the same cut you do, when they never have used that type of cut before. Do I understand that maybe they're new to the game and are still exploring things like what cutter/punch etc., to use, but all of a sudden they want to "borrow" your punch, and then they complain about the draw of their cigar. "Well why in the hell did you use the punch, copycat?" I use what I want to clip/punch my cigar, because that's what I like, not because that's what you like, stop copying!
I bring these things up because it really wrecks the vibe when one is trying to enjoy their cigar/pipe and the extra commentary is best left elsewhere. A lot of it is experience and some folks just don't know, but the easiest way not to be invited back or to have folks say "shit here he/she comes" when they enter the smoke session. Do your thing and don't attempt to copy what somebody else does. If you're really wanting to get to know how a cigar cut affects the way it smokes, try it at home. If you don't like a certain cigar, we don't really care, unless we happen to be gifting you one and even then, tread lightly on how you respond to said gift. One wrong "man I don't smoke that crap" or the likes of that will surely keep you from being gifted in the future. I normally would say, "thanks, but that's really not my flavor profile and I wouldn't want to waste a good cigar".
There's nothing wrong with "copying" as after all that's how you increase your knowledge of the game, the criticism or dumb statements are what's not really needed. The unwritten rule of the game is to be civilized and respect others opinions and not try to impose ill-advised or uneducated thoughts without any research or reasoning. Until next time, CLP (clip, light and puff).
Gregory (___GC_______________]]]]]]]~~~
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