“The Cigar Smoking World Championship was born out of the true passion of cigars combined with the beauty of the moments spent sharing this passion with like-minded people from all over the World.”
The cigar-smoking competition has been ongoing for nine years now and counting. You’ll find the best talent in the industry there. The goal? Smoke your cigar as slowly as possible, as this turns out; the slower, the better. Most recently, more than 250 of the world’s best cigar enthusiasts attended the event. Talk about a lot of smoke! You might think this event was going to be one where anger and competitiveness bring out the worst in people. The opposite is true.
The true gentleman and the camaraderie of the sport radiate from everyone. Win or lose, contenders and fellow cigar aficionados laugh and have a jolly ol’ time. The prizes consist of loser cigars, which are no losing matter, to the grand prize! A trophy and the title of Grand Champion serve as the awards. Also, the champion receives a custom Cueryo y Sobrinos Swiss watch. The winner also gets a 24-hour cruise aboard a mega yacht. By itself, the cruise value climbs over $80,000 per day. And there is much, much more.
How Smoking Competitions Work
The competition is like any sport but compared to the Olympics. People from across the world come together as one collective group with a passion for cigar smoking! The competition is real. It’s fierce. It’s truly a sport of competition. Despite the competition, it’s easy to root for one another, hoping people succeed (but not as much as you hope to win.) Training is standard as well. As fellow cigar smokers know, it’s challenging to make a cigar last and have the physical stamina to keep from letting the smoke get to us. The world record is 3 hours, 52 minutes, and 55 seconds for a single cigar. The community comes closer together by training together, traveling, and having a smoke with a friend.
The Passion for Cigar Smoking
As cigar smokers, we often overlook the passion behind what we do when we light up. We must share our love. Young people are smoking more cigars and need mentorship on the correct way to light up, which cigars to smoke, and smoking etiquette. Let’s pass our knowledge on to them so we can keep the tradition of cigar smoking going.
“The more I smoke cigars, the more experienced I become with the Leaf. The more I realize that cigar smoking is as much (and perhaps more) about the people with whom you experience these cigars than it is the flavors you connote.”
Let’s keep the camaraderie of smoking cigars going, but make sure to bring extra smokes to share with the ones we love!
Photo credit: Pixabay | Ben_Kerckx