Several years ago, I started with an idea…and it wasn’t to start a cigar blog. Regardless, over the course of time, that’s what it became. Unfortunately, the name wasn’t “cigar” or “tobacco” related and it was just hard to explain to people. Now I, along with my associates, am happy to welcome you to our “new place.” We have a new design and new focus, along with a format that has been tweaked a bit since the beginning of this year. We hope you all enjoy Leaf Enthusiast and will participate in the discussion through the comments section. Let us know what you think, good or bad…if there’s something we can make better, we definitely want to know that. Below is our “Mission Statement” and some details on what to expect on this site. This has also been adapted to our “What We Do” page, where it will serve as a way for new readers to get up-to-speed, as well as serve as a reminder for us about exactly what we set out to do.

Mission Statement

We are leaf enthusiasts, hungry to try new cigar or pipe tobacco blends or rediscover some that have been forgotten, then share those experiences with our readers. We are united in pursuit of knowledge, a desire to better inform our audience and a love to burn a stogie or a bowl whenever we can.

WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO

Our current roster of authors has over 60 years of combined experience with cigar and pipe smoking. In the course of spending all that time with our chosen tobacco products, we have observed and learned a thing or two, and we would like to share them with our readers.

Cigar & Pipe Tobacco Reviews

Our main focus will continue to be the review of new blends to hit the market place. We define “new” as being released in the preceding 18 months. We have a secondary focus on “re-discovery” of blends that we may have forgotten about during our search for new blends, as well as evaluations of cigars we have aged.

We publish reviews in several formats. The “full review” will include lots of background information and details evaluation of the cigar or pipe tobaccos in various stages of the burning experience. It may also include places the blend can be purchased, especially if one of our sponsors carries it. A “short take review” will include less background and a lower level of detail, but possibly more anecdotal personal info; these often will talk about cigars we have reviewed in full at some point and will offer a second viewpoint, a pairing combination, or a look at the cigar in a different vitola.

We are still tweaking and refining these formats, so please be patient with us.

Wine, Beer & Spirit Reviews

We are interested in adult beverages and how they can pair with cigars. In that “spirit” we will offer occasional reviews of wine, beer or spirits, giving background and details where available, as well as a full evaluation and suggestions for pairing with cigars or pipe tobacco.

Opinions & Commentary

Let’s face it…all cigar blogs are opinion based and biased to some degree. We’re honest about that fact, but we will strive to be as objective as possible when reviewing products. Sometimes we don’t like blends by companies we are close friends with and we have to be honest about that; other times we are surprised at liking blends from companies we haven’t enjoyed so much in the past. With several reviewers on the case, we tend to pick cigars that we are going to enjoy for reviewing…and it just makes sense: if I buy a cigar and don’t like it, I’m not going to spend my own money on it to buy another for a review. The result is that our scored reviews trend fairly high.

We will at times offer articles solely of commentary on some facet of the cigar industry, or of government intervention and interference with the industry. The opinions expressed in those articles or in regular reviews belong to the authors and no one else. The six of us mostly agree politically, but we’re definitely not on the same page on every issue.

Education

As stated above, we have a lot of experience with cigars and pipes. If we feel we have something to share that may be of educational value, we will do so. A lot of tobacco education also tends to be opinion-based, though, so let’s just call this fair warning. I can teach you how to properly cut and light a cigar, but really it’s just the way that works best for me…and someone else may have a way that works better for them.

For more “fact-based” education, we may occasionally just direct you to another website where that information resides. No reason to re-invent the wheel.

News

This is not a cigar or tobacco news site. We may run some press releases, especially if those releases are provided by companies that sponsor us. If you are looking for a site that will give you up-to-the-minute coverage of smoker-related news, spend countless hours on the phone following up a story, or just make something up to get some hits, you are barking up the wrong tree.

Some of those sites are valuable resources to us when we are researching background on our reviews. When we use them as such, they will be properly credited and linked to. We will not just re-publish their words, however, as that is theft (press release text does not count in this statement).

So…

I think that’s a good place to start. We hope you will join us on this journey.

One other note: We have about 5 years (well over 1,000 articles) on Tiki Bar Online content that we will be editing, updating where necessary, and moving over to these pages. We expect that process to take a few months. Some are ready to go already, but please visit the old site for the older reviews while we finish up.