Cigars Make the Tradition

The events that define our lives mean even more when they involve a great smoke.

Traditions are a special part of life, and they are often as personal and unique as the people who create them. They may take the form of a golf or hunting trip with your best friends, a reunion at a college football game or a special dinner with family or friends. Whatever the event, most cigar lovers will agree: a tradition is not complete until it’s accompanied by a great smoke.

I had the chance this past weekend to cap off one of my favorite traditions with a few great cigars. For 29 years in a row now my high-school cross country team (along with a few of our best friends) has gathered to go winter camping in the Appalachian Mountains. That’s right, 29 years in a row. We always meet the last weekend in February, and we come from all corners of the country to make the trip. It’s my job to bring the high-quality cigars.

It’s typically pretty chilly on the mountain. In fact, our coolers are used more to keep our food and beer from freezing, rather than to keep it cold. But we camp in tents and build some of the biggest camp fires you’ll ever see. We all bring fine steaks for the big Saturday night dinner, and my buddy John carts up the fireworks for a killer show under the stars.

The best part of the trip is the time we spend around the big fire. I’d say we are one of the most diverse and interesting groups of high school friends who still meet up in one place. One is a catholic priest, another is the captain of a NOAA ship. There are a few engineers, a bar manager, a lobbyist, an architect and a lawyer. We travel from as far away as Tennessee, Virginia, New York and, on special anniversary years, California and Sweden.

Around the big fire our conversation approaches the levels of absurdity you could only find in an Edward Albee play. It can range from intense and piercing philosophical debate to silly and benign jokes and ribbing. We have all certainly grown a lot since our first year on the mountain, but we still treat each other now as if it were still 1980. Even the music is the same—including a steady stream of Led Zeppelin.

Many of us light up throughout the trip. We pull out our stash of fine cigars, share them with friends, and take in the rich aroma along with a great single-malt or an ice cold beer. We might sit down by the brook in the late afternoon, after we had gathered all the wood we need for the night, and enjoy some great Cubans before we go back to the fire. There, we lie back, listen to the babbling water and enjoy the peace that comes from camping with great friends, alone in the mountains.

This was another great year, and another awesome camping trip. I’m already anticipating next year’s big 30th reunion. I will bring an especially fine box, open it around the fire and pass it around from man to man. Like the beer, the aged porterhouse steaks, the single malt and the great fireworks, our trip wouldn’t be the same without the premium cigars—and the tradition that they help to define.

John von Brachel

3/3/08

1 COMMENTS

Posted by Russell Riggs - Mar 4 2008 @ 12:30 PM
Re: Cigars Make the Tradition Although I am a relative newcomer to the camping trip (I have only been attending for about 8 years) the camraderie of this group has been fantastic. John had asked me to come for several years before I finally agreed. "Camping in the winter?" I said. "Are you nuts?" However, come one time and you are hooked for life. Rain or shine, sleet or snow (two feet of snow in 08!), this trip is one I eagerly look forward to year after year. I agree with John that the excellent cigars, along with the good scotch, well-marbled steaks and the old, old jokes all combine to forge a tradition that I hope to enjoy for many years to come. John, thanks for inviting me along, old friend, and I look forward to seeing you around the campfire next year!!

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