Now is the time to really start paying attention. Or not. Learn to notice and perhaps even make note of personal preferences. If you wish. Data, say, in the form of such things as wrapper leaves, countries of origin, and size/format. What you like and what you don't. You maybe might want to take this opportune time to start right now, if right now is when you're 'advancing from solid beginner smokes such as (for argument's sake) a milder Oliva Connecticut Reserve or more hardy Padron Series.
I don't need to delve back to that though, this is about growth. Or not. If you wish. Maybe-- words plucked from the first paragraph to instill that it is not at all mandated or even necessary to become whatever the heck an intermediate smoker is. It's simply a tag I applied for no good reason. That said, if you wish to be one, read on ahead. If not, it's perfectly happy to stay with the simple pleasures of your early premium cigar enjoyment--and if it ain't broke don't fix it. Remember, a real cigar smoker is a person who smokes cigars.
But to gain intermediate status is truly to take another step forward to the ultimate goal of becoming a connoisseur, aficionado, and maybe even other hard-to-spell words of potentially foreign origin. Like I said, begin to more mindfully engage. See if it fits your make-up to sit with just a smoke. To play with picking notes and engaging in nuances. Don't worry if you're doing it correctly--you most likely are not--or at least not as correctly as you soon will be. Your goal now is to see if the next step is for you.
And if it ain't, that's awesome. You'll save yourself much time, energy, and money. Plus, you'll just keep getting that sweet familiar 'baccy taste in your mouth as you focus on other things more up your alley. Cigar smoking as a bit actor, not a lead. Pretty cool. I've always had an affinity for bit actors.
I feel as if I've heavily dissuaded from beginning the journey of what I affectionately refer to (and take part in) as cigar geekery. I have not. I've even said how one might head out on that particular trip. And if I've not been clear, I'll be-so now: smoke all the different leaves and remember as much as you can. I feel it at least as equally important, however, to make it okay to be a casual cigar smoker who keeps it simple and simply right-sized. As I've already stated, that's real too.
Stay tuned for my upcoming Quick-Take on how the expert level operates! [IT'S NOW HERE] And if you want to, check out my book How to Enjoy a Cigar.
::: very :::