hi from west London

[Toshi]

Thought it's probably good form to make an introduction post, so here goes....

I've been a smoker for the last 25 years on and off, but mainly cigarettes - the occasional cigar on special occasions, but I was never aware of whether what I was smoking was of any real quality (it was usually accompanied by copious amounts of alcohol anyway).

A friend of mine is a cigar smoker however, and a couple of weeks ago I spent the day with him and after a good lunch he offered me a Cohiba Siglo IV from his humidor. It seemed rude not to accept, and I loved it! We got talking and to cut a long story short when he saw how much I was enjoying it he made a list of cigars I should try (all Cuban - and an online supplier he uses). The next day I ordered a few of the cigars on the list from the dealer - CGars Ltd, and when they arrived I wrapped up warm, sat in the garden and enjoyed a Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto - which I really enjoyed.

I immediately ordered a humidor and found this forum to read how to season it & set it up (it's been seasoning now for about 7 days, and I'm currently salt testing the hygrometer to calibrate it), so hopefully I'll be able to start loading it up with "sticks" soon. I have my list to get through, after all

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions, but I will try to search first (I am a member of a number of forums for watch collectors, so I know how irritating it can be when newbies ask the same old questions) and I'll try to make a contribution here

Cheers
Rich

[Deano]

Hiya! We're not too bothered with newbie questions, though there's plenty of resource here already which may be best search through first - but ask if you have problems.

Enjoy your stay

[cj121]

Hello Rich,

A nice introduction there, welcome.

I too am a regular cigarette smoker so you're not alone on the board here. I would much prefer to smoke cigars full time, as a replacement, but don't have the time to make that replacement full

Anyhow, enjoy your time on the forum and don't worry about the newb questions, as most folk are more than helpful on here. However, as Deano says, there is a lot of information to be had if you wish to search.

[SmokeyDave]

Hello and welcome to the forum

Sounds like your well on your way into the voyage of puro discovery!

Start measuring up for the bigger humidor

[Toshi]

Start measuring up for the bigger humidor

Yes, I'm beginning to realise that expecting a 50 cigar humidor to be sufficient was optimistic

[daniel2001]

Welcome to UKCF, sounds like you are off to a great start down what is a really rather satisfying (albeit expensive) journey.

[Dave K]

Hi Rich!...Siglo IV eh! Classy way to launch your Havana Cigar journey

[Moon Dancer]

Yes, I'm beginning to realise that expecting a 50 cigar humidor to be sufficient was optimistic

Hi Rich, and
Yes, the more space you have, the more space you'll fill

[cohibaIV]

Welcome, enjoy your stay

[monkey66]

Hi and welcome.

[peanutpete]

welcome to the forum

[Toshi]

Hi Rich!...Siglo IV eh! Classy way to launch your Havana Cigar journey

Well, I'm a classy guy

[Simon-JG-hr]

Welcome aboard Rich. There's a brilliant wealth of knowledge on here, and I've never seen anyone less than willing to help out (no matter how many times the question might already have been asked).

(Which has given me an idea which might be more suited to the suggestions sub-forum, but hey-ho... To go alongside the wiki - is that still going? - perhaps a 'Gold' sub-forum for the best of advise threads...? )

[lestabantam]

Welcome aboard, Rich. Good intro and a good start with the siglo iv!

[Deano]

Welcome aboard Rich. There's a brilliant wealth of knowledge on here, and I've never seen anyone less than willing to help out (no matter how many times the question might already have been asked).

(Which has given me an idea which might be more suited to the suggestions sub-forum, but hey-ho... To go alongside the wiki - is that still going? - perhaps a 'Gold' sub-forum for the best of advise threads...? )

Good point, I'll see if I can get the Wiki back up this weekend.