A Few Random Thoughts...

Sometimes a thought occurs to me and the only way to get it to leave my brain is to say it. So that's what I'm doing today: some fairly random thoughts, rants, gripes...whatever you want to call them.

WORDS MEAN THINGS, Part 1

As a student of the English language (I almost got an English degree before realizing that it's only slightly more useful than a philosophy degree...if you don't want to teach, I can't recommend either as an educational path), I am interested in what words actually mean. Sometimes I may not have a complete etymology of the word at hand, but in common everyday parlance certain things do mean specific things. One thing in particular has been bugging me for a very long time.

If you add a suffix of "-y" to a word, it is generally understood that you are describing one thing as being like something else to some degree. To describe a cigar as "chocolatey" would be to say that the flavor or aroma is in some way similar to some aspect of chocolate. The thing that bugs me is when someone says a cigar is "woodsy" when they really mean to say "woody."

To say a cigar is "woodsy" is basically saying "it tastes like the woods." That's a perfectly fine descriptor and one I've used before, especially with a lot of Davidoff products that reminds me of that experience. The wet, fertile soil, the rich aromas of trees in the air, the funguses growing around. That's what I'm talking about. Most people use the word to describe "it tastes like cedar (or oak or maple)." I would say, if you can't use the word "woody" without tittering like a school girl, maybe it's best to just say what specific wood species a cigar is reminding you of.

WORDS MEAN THINGS, Part 2

One of the biggest trends in cigar wrappers in the past couple years is the use of Mexican Maduro. Most of these wrappers are grown in a certain valley that often gets mistaken for something else entirely.

San Andreas is the name of an unincorporated town in California, a lake near San Francisco, and the most famous fault line in the world, which was named after that lake (but not the town, apparently, which is more centrally located in the state).

San Andrés is the name of a tobacco-growing region in Mexico's state of Veracruz.

Subtle difference, to be sure, but if you are talking about San Andreas wrapper you are on shaky ground.

CIGAR SHOP ETIQUETTE

Yesterday Cigar Advisor reprinted this “10 Commandments” list of etiquette rules when you are in a cigar shop. Good list and one I wouldn’t really quibble with too much. As with many things, though, there are qualifiers to some of these commandments. #2 got my attention. Yes, you should avoid “bringing your own sticks from home” to a shop to smoke. Unless you bought them there at some previous time (which is qualifier that is mentioned in the article). But this rule mostly applies, I think, when you don’t really know the shop owner/manager. I make it a habit to spend my own money on a regular basis at Burns in Chattanooga. Some days when I go in I don’t actually end up buying anything, but those are the exceptions. When there is a cigar from home that I want to smoke that day and it is not something I bought from Burns, I try to make it a point to buy something that day. Most shops don’t really have a problem with you smoking something you brought as long as you already spent money with them...maybe you saw something there you wanted for later...most owners will appreciate that. Maybe the best thing to do if you’re not sure...if it’s a new shop for you or a different manager than you usually deal with...ASK!!!! Open your mouth and ask if they mind...most of the time they won’t. If it’s something they don’t carry, they may ask that you remove the band so other people don’t see it. Another tip: bring one to share with the manager. If you just got the box of something great that your shop doesn’t carry, take one to the manager...maybe he’ll want to bring it in but hasn’t had a chance to try it yet.

It mostly just comes down to respect. Respect the shop, respect the owner or manager. Communicate and ask permission if you’re not sure. The most disrespectful thing I can think of is going to a shop you’ve never been to before, taking your own cigars, lighting up without asking permission, then proceeding to not buy a single thing. To be honest, the shop doesn’t owe you a thing and if I were the owner and saw that, I’d ask you to buy something or leave.

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