Meet the Ash-holes: Brian
My Cigar History
My experience with cigars seems to mirror many in this hobby. I began smoking cigars in high school just as something to do. Usually the “good†stuff like swishers, white owl, tiparillos, etc. In the later years of high school, I was introduced to premium cigars by an uncle of mine. He was (and still is) a Punch smoker. From then on I became very intrigued with the cigar industry and more specifically the art of cigar making. All of the nuances of the process, much like the wine industry, and how they affect the final product, is fascinating to me. Although I was introduced to premium cigars a long time ago, it wasn’t until a few years ago when my cigar hobby became a passion. I was gifted a 50 ct. humidor and quickly filled it. I remember thinking that I will never need more than 50 cigars on hand at a time. Well, as most of you know, I was wrong. I now have 4 humidors including a 600 ct. end table.
As my passion for cigars grows and as this hobby takes me to new places, I am finding that it is one of the most exciting and inviting “societies†on the planet. The people in the cigar world are much different than others. The camaraderie and the generosity among BOTL/SOTL is unmatched. I think this is why I continue to look for ways to get deeper and deeper into the industry.
And that brings me to Nice Tight Ash. I met Charlie and Chris as a fan of their site. It was entirely coincidental that they lived an hour away from me and that I was soon to be taking a job even closer. They had asked if I would like to do some reviews for the site but I wasn’t quite sure I was up to it. When Charlie was getting married I agreed to do a guest review of the Man O’ War Ruination and thoroughly enjoyed it. So the next time they asked, I jumped at the chance. I am looking forward to being involved with such a good group of guys and watching site grow as we all get better and better at what we are doing.
My Personal History
I’m a 32 year old Engineer living in Maryland. I have been married for just over 5 years and have 2 great kids. My passions are obviously cigars but also on top of the list are family and ice hockey. I grew up playing hockey from the age of 4 in central New York and continue to play today although I spend most of my time coaching now. I started coaching when my regular playing days ended and have coached multiple youth and college programs in New York and Maryland. Other things that probably aren’t interesting but…I love to golf although I would really love to get better and I watch pretty much any sport on TV with the exception of basketball.
Current Top 3 cigars: Man O’ War Ruination Belicoso, Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic 1979, El Triunfador
Honorable mention in no particular order: CAO Lx2, Tatuaje Brown Label, Padron Maduro, Oliva Serie V
My Cutters: Palio Silver.
My Lighters: Xikar Executive torch
My Humidors: 500-600 count End Table, a 50 count Savoy Desktop, a 100 count 3 drawer desktop, a 20 count desktop at the office, and a 15 count cigar Caddy travel case.
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Comments
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I will like to personally thank you, Ben, Chris, and Charlie for the chance to compete on your Fall 09 “review competition”. I just found out I was one of the lucky winners (You picked my review, cannot believe it yet). I am one of many who enjoy and learn from Nice Tight Ash’s reviews. Keep up the good work and keep on smoking.
Jaime Vives-Rivera
JaimeVR (Twitter)
Brian, you should do more reviews. Yours seem better than most, and I think the reason is because there are less “uhhhs” in your speech. Most reviews are full of them, but you will allow a short silence to actually think about the cigar instead of give the impression your digging for more to say.