Touching again on the theme of summertime cigars, I wanted to share of of my favorite smokes. There are a ton of good cigars out there, and some are still priced for us to enjoy them more often. When I began working in our store, Low Country Pipe & Cigar, there were a lot of choices and I didn't know where to begin. Even after I did a great deal of research, limited funding and enormous choices still made tasting less frequent than I would like. Sure, it's great to help customers pick out a cigar, but it's equally nice when an enthusiastic patron suggests something to me.

Enter Rocky Patel cigars. These have always been a great seller in our store and on our website, but there was about to be a huge spike in sales. The customer, a doctor, enjoyed these with his buddies while golfing, and explained how they are mild and flavorful. Well, needless to say, my interest increased. When I would work the store on Saturdays, I would arrive about 45 minutes early to prep a pot of coffee (many times two) and fire up a cigar. While walking through our humidor and taking in the sweet-cedar aromas, the Edge Lite was calling out. I do enjoy rich maduro smokes later in the day, but they are too bold for the morning. Taking the torpedo in hand, and cutting the tip, I could tell good things were to come. It's probably something all of us do, actually. We clip the cigar and take a draw to make sure it's going to smoke well. No problems there. Every single Rocky Patel stogie is hand-rolled and test-drawn with a machine designed to only pass cigars that have a specified resistance. It's no surprise that I've never come across a more consistent smoke. Funny thing, but the sweet taste drifting through the leaves and upon my lips made me not want to light for a few minutes. Briefly toasting the foot with a wooden match, and taking one delicate puff, the smoke drifted around my head in plumes.

It's no surprise why these became the #1 cigar sold in our stores for a year. Whenever someone would want to try something new, this was an easy direction. Actually, I believe these are still in the top 1 or 2. Even though I have a humidor full of good smokes, I picked up four of these to have after dinner with friends last Thursday. A wonderful fish fry and mahi-mahi roasted with butter and salt during a thunderstorm was capped with four embers on the front porch facing the Atlantic. My three buddies had never had one of these before, but all thoroughly enjoyed them. In fact, multiple sticks sold to them the next day. Even if you're a maduro-hound, trying one of these is something that just might bring you back for more.