I remember Stephen Chow's movie "The God of Cookery", in which there is a line that impressed me deeply:
May I ask what is the most delicious thing you have ever eaten in your life?
You should ask yourself this question.
At the end, Stephen Chow, played by Stephen Chow, realized that the most delicious thing in the world is actually the bowl of barbecued pork rice with eggs made by Karen Mok, which can keep him warm and satisfied when he is at his worst and most miserable. A simple rice, barbecued pork and poached eggs can keep you warm and satisfied for 20 Hong Kong dollars. I am afraid that only those who are deeply in love know the taste.
Similarly, what is a good cigar to smoke? You can only ask yourself this question.
I have always compared cigars to food. Remember, it is not food but food. Food is to satisfy our survival, and food is to satisfy our appetite and spiritual comfort. It is an enjoyment above the basic life. In addition to being an enjoyment above life, the most important point of cigars and food is that cigars, like food, are something that can only be understood but not expressed in words.
Anyone can describe the taste of a Partagas Lusitania and the feeling of smoking this cigar. But these are meaningless to someone who has never smoked this cigar. You can only know how it feels if you taste it yourself, and you can't listen to anyone else's words.
Cigars have their own color, aroma, taste, meaning and shape. The feeling of cigars is essentially a full-scale experience with vision, touch, smell, taste and hearing. This experience cannot be faked by human hands.
Although the taste of cigars can be quantified, the taste mainly depends on the tongue and taste buds. There are only four basic tastes in all things: sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy. Other tastes are combined from these four tastes. But to fully experience cigars, you need to experience the aroma and taste of cigars. The aroma and taste of cigars are actually difficult to separate. The aroma of cigars lies in the mellow aroma of cigars, which is part of our taste and part of our smell.
Taste and smell are almost inseparable "partners". Many people have a high sensitivity to taste or smell. And many people have experienced nasal congestion affecting the taste function. In theory, if you lose your sense of smell, half of your taste buds are also lost. Only your taste buds can understand this comprehensive feeling.
Cigars are a commodity that can bring pleasure. A cigar can be a toy in your hand. You can gently turn it in your hand, watch the oily sheen on the surface of the cigar wrapper, feel the full and elastic touch from your fingertips, and inhale slowly. The natural tobacco aroma jumps into your mouth and nose. All of this is fun.
After cigars entered Europe, various related designs were born during the pandemic. Cigars have gradually become artistic. Some small cigar arts can increase the happiness of smoking cigars.
For example, starting with cigar boxes, there are probably countless exquisite cigar boxes. Authentic cigar boxes are made of pine wood, which allows tobacco to breathe and also provides better aging conditions for cigars.
Many cigar boxes are fine works of art, whether it is the cigar box presented to Churchill by the King of Belgium, which was made by Wolfs Freres in Brussels, made of green malachite and ivory, with a diamond-studded handle and a lid decorated with Churchill's initials. Inside the lid is an inscription: "A tribute from the King of Belgium, who pays tribute to the man who never despaired - Winston Spencer Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain during the war." This cigar box is now estimated to be worth more than one million pounds.
It is the captain of the Titanic, a walnut moisturizer lined with camphor wood, which can hold 40 cigars. The shape of the box is also unique, with a double-opening design and a V-shaped cigar cutter on the top. The box has a special logo of the White Star Line and an abbreviation EJS. This cigar box belongs to Edward John Smith, the captain of the Titanic.
This type of cigar box expresses an art and aesthetic, and so do the cigars we use in daily life. In addition to meeting practical functions, we always want to look pleasing to the eye.
The cigar logo on the box looks like a painting, usually covered with Baroque pictures, scroll patterns, and gold-inlaid reliefs. These fancy prints are actually the work of popular painters in the 19th century. They are also carefully designed, and some were even painted by famous artists at the time.
Then when you hold a cigar in your hand, you can see the beautiful cigar label. The label is a ring on the upper middle part of the cigar. The art of cigar label can be traced back to the 1850s and 1860s. At that time, cigar manufacturers realized that decorative cigar labels could be used to advertise and attract potential buyers. Artists in cigar label design have a huge range of themes and designs to choose from. These labels are a colorful mix of modern and historical art, themes and topics, including animals, beauties, celebrities, cowboys, Indians, architecture, stories and more. Exquisite label design can see the history behind the cigar. Different cigars and different labels are a journey.