Old Dog, New Tricks

It’s never too late to change.

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and to a large extent, it’s true. Let’s face it, getting El Jeffe, Laurence Davis, to switch from smoking behemoth cigars several times a day to partaking in a cigarillo every fortnight is a mission that’s doomed to failure.

Having said that, we all have the capacity to change things in our lives. Sometimes we need a shock to the system or a radical new shift in direction in order to make changes – and sometimes we just wake up one morning and realise our world has become somewhat one dimensional.

Take a moment to think about your cigar routine of late. Have you found yourself smoking the same old thing, day in, day out? Have you allowed yourself to settle into an established routine, which fits you like a well-worn slipper but which might not be pushing many boundaries in terms of new tastes, blends, sizes and flavours?

Those comfortable old slippers certainly have a place. We all need to ground ourselves from time to time with the much-used and the much-loved. Equally – you can have too much of a good thing.

Lift your head up and take a look around. Each day is a new one and humans are pre-programmed to adapt, change, to learn. It’s in our nature to explore and try new things. So follow your nature.

Once in a while, throw an unusual (for you) cigar into your regular rotation. Maybe that’s a long thing, a short fatty, something potent or a delicate little number. Whatever it is, make it something that you wouldn’t ordinarily have thought of the moment you stepped over the threshold into your favourite cigar store.

And if your ‘outside the box’ selection merely confirms what you already knew – that perhaps you weren’t keen on an overly-spicy Partagas Serie D No.4, or that the concentrated flavours of a corona sized blend were too much for your palate, don’t beat yourself up; your palate preferences shift throughout your life and unless you try every once in a while, you simply won’t notice when yours has changed.

However, you may be pleasantly surprised to find something new. That, in actual fact, a flavour profile you didn’t used to be keen on was really rather good this time around. Or maybe you’ll stumble across a new leaf or line of cigars that really floats your boat.

In cigars, as in life, you have to keep putting yourself out there; trying new things, ‘meeting’ new people, always looking for a fresh angle and a new experience. That way, your life will always be filled with a sense of inquisitiveness and inspiration – and you’ll enjoy the journey rather than straining for the destination.