Cigars + their accoutrements

Cigars are referenced in the under declaration of this on-line Odyssey, but nary has their been a puff of illumination on the subject. Truth unvarnished, better informed - if vastly less amusing - writing regarding cigars already has been deposited by ten yard dumpster load fulls than that which I could provide. Such the case, I'll nevertheless put out a few salient facts on a pet subject and redirect anyone interested to far more superior "Cigar Afficionado" postings:

1.) Fact: All WWII Allied leaders were devout smokers, but the Axis duo of Adolf H.& Benito M. were abstainers. Now argue against the indulgence!

2.) Fact: So resolute was Winston Churchill in his habit that, taking a test flight in an unpressurized cabin, the PM got a special oxygen mask with a slot for puffing while aborne.

3.) Fact: H.L. Mencken began life, almost literally, in his family's Baltimore cigar factory and kept up the habit religiously thereafter. [We'll omit, however, any consideration of what impact this may have had on his subsequent stroke. Ahem.]

4.) Resolved: A cigar is to golf what the coming of spring is to the poet. William F. Buckley will argue the opposing side from the Great Beyond.

5.) In compensation for their upper-classes being (easily) snookered into spying for the Soviets: The English manor house custom of retiring for a cigar after dinner still must rank as one of the pinnacles of civilization.

No stick snobbery is my ambition, rest assured. I prefer very mild blends with Connecticut wrappers in the +50 gauge, e.g. Macanudo, Romeo y Julieta, Remedios & Gispert. The sin I admit to is a preference for wine to whiskey (or bourbon) while indulging. More robust tobaccos are lost on my palette so I can't wax eloquent beyond my limited range on the non-machismo end of the flavor spectrum. [My two authentic Cubans smoked express routed me to Palookaville, I confess.]

What I do profess complete expertise in, however, is the subject of lighters for use on golf courses. To the below right is my current favorite. It's industrial grade; purchased from a hunter's web site. I believe it's intended use is to get camp fires going while perched on the side of glacial cliffs [Can't suffer a night without piping hot Chef Boyardee regardless of which godforsaken fjord the Serpha has landed you!].

Matches on a windy day are useless on the course (plus incredibly frustrating) and most conventional lighters, in such straits, are not much more effective than a Dennis Kucinich presidential bid. You want something that's a mini-arc light, but doesn't have the lack of precision which makes you speculate that some of the golf cart's roof might melt from prolonged usage. Remember that your fire pal is going to get pretty banged-up jostling in your bag. Also keep in mind you want a model with the extra fuel capacity of this beauty.

Do yourself a favor if you enjoy partaking on the links and get something like so. The model is from Colibri and is listed as their "Wind Resistant Butane Quantum Lighter With SST ignition". The compass on its bottom I could do without, but, as mentioned, this is designed for Marlon Perkins and not Phil Mickelson.

As a good friend of mine standardly says in parting, "Enjoy!".