Have a Cigar

 

Mine, all mine

The H Upmann  Chairman’s Reserve cigar was manufactured in the late 1990s through the early 2000s. It was a light to medium body cigar, meaning it was not too strong. 

At the time, it was priced on the higher end of the spectrum and was considered a good cigar. 

During this period I used to travel to eastern North Carolina on a regular basis. I usually flew into Raleigh and drove over to Greenville to the headquarters of my main customer. Not too far out of my way I could visit one of the outposts of the JR Tobacco company. 

JR had these giant stores that sold pretty much everything at a discount, including cigars. You could get everything from clothes to books to perfume. But the heart of the store was cigarettes and premium cigars. 

I often made the trip to JRs during my layover. I flew in one day, spent the night and flew out the next evening. 

During one of these trips I picked up a box of H Upmann Chairman’s Reserve. They came in a beautifully crafted cedar box. I still use the box today to store my cigar smoking paraphernalia — cutters, lighters, matches, a small ashtray. That is my box in the picture, a little scuffed and worn. 

I believe I bought this box of cigars around 2002 or 2003. 

I tell you this because I still have a few of these erstwhile smokes in my humidor. You see, if I really like a cigar or if they were moderately expensive, I don’t want to smoke them. I keep them, often opting to smoke a cheaper or less quality cigar. Yeah, I don’t know why. 

Well today is the day. I am going to have one of these fine H Upmanns. I doubt they taste the same as they did more than 20 years ago. They have been stored loose with a range of other cigars and are bound to have picked up other flavors. Tobacco also changes flavor as it ages. 

Still, it will be a good thing to smoke an ancient cigar. After I share one with my buddy, I think I will still have two of the Chairman’s Reserve left. Maybe I’ll try them again in another four or five years. 

Less you think this is a one-off, I have several others that I have in my humidor for more than a decade. Yeah, I’ll tell you like I tell my wife, it’s none of your business how many cigars I have in my humidor(s). The answer is not enough. I need more.