My latest at SearchWarp:

20 Ways to Smoke Cigars to the Glory of God

Got one of these today.

Anybody have any experience with these things? Does it work?

The dude at the store said it worked, but, you know, he wanted my $9.95.

Mine is currently "prepping" right now.

Gotta work better than the plastic humidifiers that come with my humidors, I figure.

[This post yanked so's not to get nobody in trouble with The Man. -- ed.]

I couldn't pass up excerpting this line from a radical Arminian pacifist's e-mail rant to Phil Johnson:

By the way, Charles Spurgeon smoked cigars.
Since smoking cigars is unregenerate behavior, how can you hold this man up as an example of what a Christian should be?

Phil's retort is priceless, but you have to read the whole exchange to understand it.

I have just one question: What is the greatest cigar you have ever smoked? No fluff. No pomp. And please, no cryptic "bursting with chocolate overtones and hints of cherries and walnuts" malarkey from the high falootin' cigar magazines who shall remain anonymous, either (alright, their initials are CA :). Simply tell is what your favorite cigar is and briefly why.

For the record, I'm no seasoned cigar smoker. The occasions these days for a fine cigar are few and far between. While I was serving in the mission field, I worked at my parent's restaurant and it was there that I had the incredible opportunity to fine-tune my skills with the so-called "puro habano".

For me, the majority of the best cigars I have had have all been Cuban and part of what's called the "Edicion Limitada" line. This line of special habanos, available only from Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo, Partagas, and Hoyo, consists of the normal blend for the vitola plus a two-year aged wrapper from a special section of the Vuelta Abajo in the Pinar del Rio region (the western part of the island where all the good stuff is grown). It takes on a darker color and richer flavor, similar to a maduro. The cigars are produced for one year and after that, unless you can find them from a retailer, are never to seen of or heard from again (except in special commemorative editions). They are simply awesome.

My favorite is the Hoyo de Monterrey Piramides Edicion Limitada 2003. Running close behind it are the Cohiba Double Corona Edicion Limitada 2003, Montecristo C Edicion Limitada 2003, Montecristo Double Corona Edicion Limitada 2001, Cohiba Siglo VI, and Montecristo Edmundo.

What is your favorite?

I smoke cigars, not a pipe, but I love this poem by Johann Sebastian Bach:

Whene'er I take my pipe and stuff it
And smoke to pass the time away
My thoughts, as I sit there and puff it,
Dwell on a picture sad and grey:
It teaches me that very like
Am I myself unto my pipe.
Like me this pipe, so fragrant burning,
Is made of naught but earthen clay;
To earth I too shall be returning,
And cannot halt my slow decay.
My well used pipe, now cracked and broken,
Of mortal life is but a token.

No stain, the pipe's hue yet doth darken;
It remains white. Thus do I know
That when to death's call I must harken
My body, too, all pale will grow.
To black beneath the sod 'twill turn,
Likewise the pipe, if oft it burn.

Or when the pipe is fairly glowing,
Behold then instantaneously,
The smoke off into thin air going,
'Til naught but ash is left to see.
Man's fame likewise away will burn
And unto dust his body turn.

How oft it happens when one's smoking,
The tamper's missing from it's shelf,
And one goes with one's finger poking
Into the bowl and burns oneself.
If in the pipe such pain doth dwell
How hot must be the pains of Hell!

Thus o'er my pipe in contemplation
Of such things - I can constantly
Indulge in fruitful meditation,
And so, puffing contentedly,
On land, at sea, at home, abroad,
I smoke my pipe and worship God.

Bach's poem makes me think of Dr. M.B. Jackson, a Princeton-trained theologian who was the head of the Religious Studies department at my alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University, and therefore a professor and frequent theological mentor of mine and honorary Thinkling Daniel's. He was a thin, wrinkled man with white hair, and whenever we had a test, he would excuse himself to the stone steps out in front of the building, taking his trusty pipe with him. He always said, "If anyone needs me, I'll be outside sending up a burnt offering."
I loved that.

Sadly, Dr. Jackson passed away a few years ago. I think I'll dedicate this post to his memory.

And also to Bird, my best friend and partaker of the pipe, who is missed on this site very much.

Apparently, today is World No Tobacco Day.
That means this may be the perfect occasion to light up the Cuesta Rey that's been aging in my humidor over the last few months.

'Cause I'm a loner, Dottie, a rebel.



(Burnt offering of thanks to the BHT)

Here recently -- meaning in the past couple of years -- the City of Waco passed an ordinance banning smoking inside all restaurants. (I?m sure the ordinance extends to pretty much any public area, but I?m not sure about its scope. I know the law grants immunity -- so to speak -- for nightclubs, pool halls, and places like that.) It?s so nice to walk into a restaurant without having to worry about sitting in a ?non-smoking? section that?s about five feet away from the smoking area, while some thoughtless patron puffs his Marlboro fumes my way.

Although I?m a regular pipe smoker, and an occasional cigar guy, I can?t stand the smell of a cigarette smoke-filled room. Cigar smoke, on the other hand, is like sirloin steak to my olfactory nerves, and pipe smoke is like filet mignon.

All this smoke talk reminds me of a 1994 IHOP meal I had with Rod and a couple of other guys: We pulled up to the smoking section of IHOP and proceeded to break out our cigars. After about five minutes of happy puffing, the manager comes and tells us to put out our stogies because customers were complaining. I couldn?t believe the hypocrisy of the cigarette smokers. They don?t mind puffing away anywhere they can get away with it, but certainly don?t try to smoke a cigar in their presence! In my opinion, cigarette smoke is disgusting, especially compared to cigar and pipe smoke.

Got any good smoking stories?

Here are my favorite cigar brands, in descending order:

1. Punch -- a perennial favorite of mine. Never had a bad one.

2. Cohiba (Cuban) -- I can only mention this because [Thinkling anonymity protected] smuggled one back for me from his honeymoon in Mexico. It was as great as I had heard.

3. La Gloria Cubana

4. Joya de Nicaragua

5. Ashton

Honorable Mentions: Cohiba (Dominican), Baccarat, Casa de Nicaragua, Macanudo, Partagas

Not expecting a huge response to this. Would appreciate any sharing of special cigar/pipe smoking moments, if you have any.
Ent-Moots come to mind . . .

I discovered the joys of Sam's where you can get a freshly-baked 16" pizza with everything on it for a mere $7.97, and a five pack of Upmann robustos for $15. That inspired me to bust out a steak and a robusto from my humidor tonight; it reminded me of Entmoot. There's nothing like the smell of cigars and steaks floating through the night air.