Greetings and welcome to The Cigar Journal, a new home for cigar, coffee and other reviews.

First, allow me to introduce myself.  For the purposes of this journal I shall assume the pseudonym cigarjunkie.  I am a technical professional who resides in America's sixth largest MSA (metropolitan statistical area).  I am married and am the parent of three, including two teenagers.  I care for an elderly father, and otherwise live a normal, urban/close-suburban life -- not upscale, but certainly not banal.  I am an avid aficionado of fine cigars, having smoked them (never the cheap, supermarket varieties) for over two decades.  Among my avocations besides fine cigars are: fine art, fine music, and travel (especially of the European kind).

The purpose of this journal is to promote the appreciation of life's bounties.  About half a year ago I had a close call with death.  The trauma of this event caused me to reassess my formerly stoic, passionless, plain-vanilla existence.  I no longer take life for granted; I now devote much of my attention toward its appreciation.  As a result I have given up my preference for large quantities of low-cost, pitiful substitutes for "the real thing" in favor of smaller quantities and/or lesser frequencies of the very best life has to offer.  Today I strive to avoid those equally destructive vices of extremism -- stoicism and hedonism -- adopting instead a lifestyle of appreciation for all things aesthetic.

As for my passion for cigars: My pseudonym is in jest, for I am certainly no junkie, nor do I endorse addiction nor an unbalanced use of cigars.  My competence as a reviewer of cigars is certainly not in the expert category; my intent here is merely to report what I've enjoyed, with the hope that the information could be useful to others.  Perhaps my reviews might entice someone to forego the low-quality, mass-produced version and try the good stuff.

While this is primarily a cigar journal, I shall not limit my attention to cigars alone.  My plans include reviews of other items which offer intrinsically asethetic value, such as: various fine coffees, cheeses; other fine imported foods such as sausages & meats, chocolates; fine art, fine music ... but alas! because of my accident and the medications prescribed to me I may no longer endulge in my former passions of fine wines & single-malt Scotches.  If I review these, the impressions will most certainly be from memory.

I may also engage cigar-related topics such as: humidors and my own cigar storage systems; accessories such as lighters, cutters, and ashtrays; sources of information about cigars such as books, videos, magazines, and websites; suppliers of cigars such as tobacconists and clubs; the making of fine cigars; cigar history -- and the best environments I've found for enjoyment of cigars.

At times I may also write about somewhat more controversial subjects such as anti-smoking hysteria, tobacco taxation, or the differences between cigarette and cigar smoking.  And I may also attempt to debunk some of the common misconceptions about cigars and cigar smoking.

There will undoubtedly be other subjects, but I shall never stray from the intent of this site to promote the appreciation of the aesthetic side of life and its enjoyment.  For example, my entries may perhaps include discussions of my philosophy of the enjoyment of these finer things in life.  I may also contribute posts on health and self-improvement, such as my supplement regimen and anti-aging program; seminars and courses such as Dale Carnegie, Life Success Seminars, etc.  I shall not, however, delve into the topics of religion nor politics in this blog, except perhaps as they may directly relate to cigars and their enjoyment.  I may also contribute reviews of men's products such as fashion eyewear, fragrances, select clothing, or skin / hair care products for men.  There may even be entries on other aesthetic and stylistic subjects such as furniture, home decor and home improvement, etc. -- especially as I begin now to engage in these additional, finer-things-in-life improvements.

Rest assured that I won't get into those ultra-super-premium products such as Lamborghini automobiles, as do strongly upscale publications such as Cigar Aficionado (however, I may someday write about the low-end luxury car that saved my life).

For my cigar reviews (and, for that matter, for my reviews of anything else) I won't use a sophisticated rating system, as do the cigar mags.  I'll simply state my impressions of the overall smoking experience, together with my recommendations (or warnings, as the case may be).  I'm an American citizen, so unfortunately those reputedly-ultimate smokes, Havanas, aren't available on my home front; however, I do travel to Canada frequently (and to Europe somewhat more infrequently), so I have the opportunity to legally sample the finest wares that Cuba has to offer, and may report on the same in this blog.

Comments, suggestions, and requests are quite welcome -- in fact, they are encouraged.  I hope that you enjoy my humble attempt at this, The Cigar Journal.