I got into smoking cigars last summer and I've spent a ton of time since then researching and tasting.

What I love most is the 45 minutes alone with my thoughts or in a lively discussion with a friend.

Its a form of meditation for me.

If you're interested, heres what I know:

The best time to smoke a cigar is while reading or writing for me.

It gets the creative juices flowing.

Make sure to eat beforehand and drink water (or soda) to avoid tobacco sickness early on, or pair with a great bourbon or scotch on a weekend evening.

It's not very expensive unless you want it to be.

You can find amazing $5 cigars online with free shipping.

I use cigarpage dot com and my favorite "starter cigar" is H. Upmann's Vintage Cameroon or the Perdomo Reserve Champaign. Light, smooth, intricate, burns great, and $5-7.

If you're interested in having a few to try, the sampler packs on there are great.

Get one from Perdomo, AJ Fernandez, or Drew Estates. All good quality cigars for the golf course or an evening at home while reading, writing.

If you're looking for a step up the Cuban's are amazing.

Montecristo #2 and PunchPunch (Arnold S favorite cigar) are my two favorites. These cost around $15 per smoke generally and you have to order them on ihavanas dot com and they take several weeks to arrive.

I've purchased several $30-40 cigars at cigar bars, and some are great, but the best I've ever had I got from a cigar broker as his own labeled cigar.

Its called a Royal Unicorn 3.0 and @SeattleCigars sells them for $120 for a pack of 10.

Insanely smooth, full and flavorful.

Here’s how I store them:

Buy the Bovida packs right on Amazon. I order these 10 packs of larger ones because I now have a collection of 500+ cigars, but a small one works too if you just order a few.

Then put them in an airtight tupperware or canister and you're good.

Pull them out to celebrate a wedding or a business deal or just to relax!

Two more things to order:

Butane lighters + cigar cutters

(I've bought expensive ones and these are still the best)

Thet best thing about cigars is gifting this entire package (a tupperware, a bovida pack, a ligher, cutter + a few smokes) to a friend or family member.

My wife got one for her father for christmas and it was a huge hit.

To all the people DMing me about the cigar broker. Just DM @seattlecigars and tell him what you'd like